The MSME ministry of the Government of India launched a portal on 30th October 2017 that helps SMEs deal with delayed payment issues. The URL of the portal is http://samadhaan.msme.gov.in.

The portal aims to address issues of delayed payments with not just other MSMEs but also with Government institutions which may be tardy with payments including the Central Public Sector Enterprises, Ministries of the Central Government, Railways, State Governments and maybe even individuals.

The portal empowers the MSME who may find recourse to justice very difficult when faced with a struggle with large institutions, government or private. The process to recover delayed payments is often long and arduous. This portal provides an avenue for pursuing what is due to them. 

The Samadhaan website says that the ‘MSEFC (MSE Facilitation Council) of the State after examining the case filed by MSE unit will issue directions to the buyer unit for payment of due amount along with interest as per the provisions under the MSMED Act 2006.’

A grander goal of this enterprise is to ensure that MSMEs, which the Government has said are the backbone of the economy, find that doing business becomes easier. And that an environment is fostered in which MSMEs are able to grow their business thus improving the state of the economy whilst improving the ease of doing business overall.

The Samadhaan website has some facts available for easy reading that are constantly updated. At the time of writing:

• 362 applications were filed by MSMEs with payable amount of about INR 176 crore
• 4914 cases have been filed in MSE Facilitation Council with amount payable amounting to INR 1962 crore.

The portal, in addition to giving information about pending payments will also allow for:

MSEFC of the State after examining the case filed by MSE unit will issue directions to the buyer unit for payment of due amount along with interest as per the provisions under the MSMED Act 2006.

According to a daily, ”The CEO of public sector enterprises and defaulting ministries and their secretaries will be able to monitor the cases of delayed payment under their jurisdiction and issue necessary instructions to resolve the issues.”

The information on the portal will also be available for public viewing with the aim that this visibility would result in pressure being applied on the defaulting organisation leading them to pay back speedily.  Monitoring cases will also be easy with this new system.