File a delayed payment complaint on the MSME ODR portal

The MSME Samadhaan site now says all new delayed payment applications are filed on the MSME ODR portal. This has been the case since October 2025.

Who can file

• A micro or small enterprise registered on Udyam before the supply. Udyam registration is required to file.
• Manufacturers and service providers. Traders can't: their Udyam registration gives priority-sector lending only (Ministry OM of 02.07.2021; ODR FAQ Q10). Medium enterprises can't either.
• The buyer can be anywhere in India: a company, a government department, a PSU or another MSME. A buyer outside India can't be taken to the council (s.18(4)).

The steps

1. No legal notice is required first, and no written agreement or PO is needed. A demand letter often gets you paid faster, though.
2. Keep ready: your Udyam login, the invoices, proof of delivery, your ledger for this buyer, and the interest schedule.
3. File at odr.msme.gov.in. Several invoices to the same buyer go in one application.
4. File with the council of your state (from your Udyam address). The buyer can be in another state.
5. The buyer gets an SMS and email and has 3 days to reply.
6. Optional pre-council negotiation for 15 days (up to 30 if both agree).
7. Then conciliation at the Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation Council, and arbitration if that fails, aiming for a decision within 90 days (s.18(5)).
8. A buyer who challenges the award in court must first deposit 75% of it (s.19).

What the application asks for

The facts, your documents, payments received (date and amount), and for each unpaid amount the due date, the amount and the interest. Our calculator's schedule has exactly these columns, and its CSV opens in Excel.

Help with the cost

The ODR scheme gives each micro or small enterprise one-time help of up to ₹2,000 for documentation and up to ₹2,000 for the council's application fees. Council fees vary by state.

How old can the claim be?

The Limitation Act applies to the arbitration stage, generally 3 years from the due date. It does not apply to conciliation, so an older claim can still go there (Sonali Power Equipments, Supreme Court, July 2025). File early.

The MSMED (Amendment) Act 2026 has been passed but is not yet in force as far as we can verify.