MSME Samadhaan
MSME Samadhaan: MSME Samadhaan is the Government of India portal through which a micro or small enterprise files a delayed-payment complaint against a buyer. Under the MSMED Act, 2006 a buyer must pay within 45 days, and delay attracts compound interest at three times the RBI bank rate.
Why MSME Samadhaan matters in credit and collections
- Statutorily backed by the MSMED Act, 2006.
- Requires buyers to pay compound interest with monthly rests on the delayed amount.
- CarmaOne’s B2B module auto-compiles the entire invoice chain required for Samadhaan tribunal filings.
How a delayed-payment claim works
The MSMED Act fixes the payment period at the agreed date or 45 days from acceptance of goods or services, whichever is earlier. If the buyer does not pay within that period, statutory interest runs automatically — compound interest with monthly rests at three times the bank rate notified by the Reserve Bank of India. The supplier does not need a contractual interest clause; the liability is statutory.
The supplier files a reference on the Samadhaan portal, which routes it to the Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation Council for the relevant state. The Council attempts conciliation and, failing that, arbitrates the dispute. An award is enforceable, and a buyer challenging it is generally required to deposit a substantial proportion of the amount.
For lenders and enterprises this cuts both ways. It is a genuine recovery lever for an MSME supplier, and it is a real liability for any corporate buyer with slow payables to registered micro and small enterprises — including the statutory interest, which accrues whether or not anyone invoices for it.
Regulatory basis
The remedy arises under Sections 15 to 19 of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006, which fix the 45-day payment period, the statutory compound interest at three times the RBI bank rate, and the jurisdiction of the Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation Council.
Source: Ministry of MSME — Government of IndiaHow to use — and defend against — Samadhaan
- Confirm the supplier's registration status and the date of acceptance. Both determine whether the 45-day clock has actually run.
- Compute statutory interest correctly, with monthly compounding at three times the bank rate — it is frequently understated.
- For enterprise buyers, monitor payables ageing against registered micro and small vendors as a compliance exposure, not just a working-capital metric.
- Attempt commercial settlement before the Council stage where the relationship matters, since a filed reference tends to end it.
- Keep acceptance documentation clean. Most disputes turn on when goods or services were accepted.
MSME Samadhaan — frequently asked questions
Does the 45-day rule apply to all MSMEs?
The delayed-payment remedy under the MSMED Act is available to micro and small enterprises. Medium enterprises do not get the same protection for this purpose, so the supplier's classification matters before a reference is filed.
Is statutory interest payable even if the supplier never claimed it?
The liability arises by operation of the statute rather than by demand, so it accrues from the end of the payment period regardless of whether the supplier raised an interest invoice. This is why buyer-side payables ageing against MSE vendors is a genuine compliance exposure.