Best commercial court lawyer for commercial recovery suit in india

Dues are from outside city and Jurisdiction ?

NCR region is close by but falls in Delhi, UP and Haryana. If your business office is based in Delhi does that mean that you can file in Delhi if your goods were supplied at Faridabad or the business was carried out in Greater Noida?

It could be your customers in Mumbai who owe you from Meerut or Hapur. Or your distributor in Ahmedabad owing money to you in Kanpur. Your customer's registered office can be a link to decide which court to proceed in. The place where the cause of action happened can also determine. It can also be decided if the contract provides a valid Jurisdiction Clause. But you can't base your case purely on it being nearby.

Customers could owe you from Lucknow, Prayagraj, Varanasi or Agra. But if their assets are somewhere else then you may need to know where you can enforce your decree. It is always advised to know both while evaluating your case.

So if you are a distributor from Chandigarh who are owed by customer from Chennai you may need to take assistance from lawyer from multiple locations. There is only 1 debt to be recovered but your case may need to be moved in different locations. Cost of travelling, keeping track of your files and engaging lawyers should be kept in mind while deciding which court is appropriate for your case.

You can reach out to Advocate BK Singh & Advocate Sadhna Singh if you need help with finding appropriate Jurisdiction. Always check which court your area has been allotted and the specified value for commercial courts in that district. Don't jump onto a conclusion that your case belongs in High Court.

Do your dues qualify to be moved as commercial recovery suit?

If you are owed money for business there is more that goes into it than a bill that's past due. You must qualify as per Commercial Court Act 2015. The amount must be above the specified value and court having jurisdiction must be valid. There may be a arbitration clause in your contract which will determine how you go about your case.

Under section 2(1)(c) commercial transactions have been laid out. If you are entering into a commercial relation with buying/selling products/services. Your sale contract or supply contract could classify your dispute as a commercial transaction. You don't qualify just because you own a business.

Specified value is mentioned under Section 12. Interest up to date of institution is also considered if you are claiming for a specific amount of money. Keep in mind inflating your interest will not save you from your dues not qualifying as specified value.

Asking for unpaid bill is not the same as asking for damages. If customer has taken your goods, you are trying to recover the money you are owed for your supplies. If you lost your business and are looking for compensation there may be more factors to be determined.

Advocate BK Singh & Advocate Sadhna Singh can help you understand if you are claiming for the payment as per your contract. Or refund of advance, retain amount or something that has been disputed by the defendant.

Retain amount needs to be looked at carefully. Customer may hold onto this amount until a certain requirement is fulfilled by you. You can also be faced with refunding advance amount that was asked from your customer when the business didn't happen. Understand if you have hold on that money and what all can be deducted from it.

How can you claim money?

Indian Contract Act 1872 can help you with your legal rights. Section 73 and 74 talk about damages and liquidated damages respectively. There may be penalty mentioned on your contract but it doesn't mean you can recover everything mentioned. Losses that were unforeseeable can also not be supported in court.

Amount owed + interest + costs

You must be able to prove what is owed to you as a principal amount. Interest can be decided by terms of your contract or any statute/law applicable to your case. You can also claim costs as per your court procedure. Interest under section 34 CPC 1908 can apply till the time of decree and after it as well.

If there is no chance of your opponent succeeding in their case you may be able to get summary judgement under Order XIII-A CPC. But as stated above you must be able to support why there's no merit to your opponent's claims. Not everyone is eligible to get their case disposed of by summary judgment. Just because you have a invoice doesn't mean you can recover money faster than others.

If you can choose another way of recovery

If your contract has an arbitration clause you can refer your dispute under Section 8 of Arbitration and Conciliation Act 1996. Provided that you fulfil all the requirements to do so. Commercial court will not allow you to bypass the clause.

You may be owed money as per MSMED Act 2006. If you fall under micro or small enterprise. Make sure to check all aspects of this before assuming you qualify. Remember medium enterprises don't have the same provisions as MSME.

Advocate BK Singh & Advocate Sadhna Singh will be able to tell you if you can claim money from these statutes as well. You can't ask for all remedies at once or file false criminal charges to gain an upper hand.

Types of business that will suffer from non-payment.

You may be a wholesale dealer in Jaipur facing challenges of returned goods and credit note adjustments. Could be contractor in Pune that finished a job and has yet to receive retain amount. Consultant from Chennai whose work was not accepted as per requirement. All these businesses have suffered at some point from delays in payments.

Running an online business has its difficulties too. You may have been given task from an email ID and money is coming from another office. Records of your dispatch but don't have an agreement signed between you and customer. It's very important to know who you are doing business with.

Business owner may not be held responsible for their business debts. Unless they have provided a personal guarantee or you can establish that it was done by their action. There are many factors to consider when suing a company's owner.

Advocate BK Singh & Advocate Sadhna Singh can assist you with any queries you may have. You may be the debtor or someone trying to recover dues from their customer. If there was any deduction or previous payment done. Look at all angles of the dispute and try to understand why money isn't coming to you.

What records can you have to prove your case?

Try to gather as much documents you can that depict your relationship with debtor. Goods dispatched, goods accepted and how much money they owe. Some things you can include in your file are as follows :

• Contract, PO's, Work Orders and Quotes given/accepted.
• Invoices, Acknowledgement of goods, Challan/Delivery note and Certificate of work done.
• Payment receipts/Bank statements, Books of accounts, credit notes and how payments are adjusted.
• Emails of acceptance from your debtor, any reminder regarding pending balance or agreed date of payment.
• If there were any complaints raised by your debtor. Or any rejected goods.
• Company information and personal details if there's a guarantee provided by your debtor.

Tax details of your company/gst can play a role in establishing your transaction. But do not rely solely on GST/Invoice to prove your case. Your books can be wrong as well and you should know your customer's accounts as well.

Make sure to store electronic evidence correctly as per new law i.e. Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam 2023. Section 63 talks about how you should store your electronic evidence. Save your files correctly and don't crop your messages/screenshots as you may be missing out on vital info. Also note that you may have to follow old procedure if your case has been filed before new law.

Advocate BK Singh & Advocate Sadhna Singh can guide you on what evidence is missing and how you can fill the gaps. Your contract may not have a signature but you can still prove your case if other documents are there.

Keep in mind if goods were supplied in multiple quantities. Which ones were accepted and which were rejected. If you club everything into a single balance you may face pushback from your debtor.

Do you have enough time on your hands to recover your dues?

As mentioned above your limitation could start from the day you dispatched your goods. Depending on what you are suing for look at the appropriate Schedule and article to figure out your timeline. There may be instances when your limitation got extended as debtor wrote to you to acknowledge their debt. Section 18 and 19 of limitation act 1963 will cover more information about your case. But always remember if you wrote to yourself it may not count.

Any time your case spends under section 12A mediation is excluded from limitation period. This does not apply if you were just negotiating with your debtor informally. If you have old invoices look at each invoice individually and find out what dates to consider.

If your case qualifies as commercial your opponent will have a limited time to respond. Normally their Written Statement will have to be filed in 30 days from service of summons. They can ask court for extension up to 120 days. If your case falls under commercial courts your opponent may lose this opportunity to reply to your suit.

Contact Advocate BK Singh & Advocate Sadhna Singh as soon as you know your limitation is nearing. Or if you have received summons don't waste time trying to figure out your next step. There is no estimated time for your case to be completed. As there could be evidentiary issues, pendency of court and collecting your debt from debtor can also take longer than expected.

Things to not do if you want your money back

1. Don't rely on customer to pay you just because you have known them for years.
2. Don't assume that your debtor has accepted your bills. There may be discrepancies between what you supplied and what they accepted.
3. Know who your debtor is. There may be multiple companies operating under 1 umbrella. Find out who owes you.
4. If your contract states a way of dispute don't ignore it.
5. Do not charge more interest than you feel you can justify.
6. Save your old communication with debtor as they may contradict what they are saying now.
7. Read what you're agreeing to in a settlement agreement. Don't let your debtor walk away from your debt by giving less cash in hand.
8. Knowing who your debtor is will help you determine if owner is held liable for their business debts.
9. Remember a decree isn't a check that you can collect from.

If your customer tells you something and it's reflected in your books of account then you will need to reconsider. Why you think you can recover from them. Having faith that they will pay you and building trust again is hard. So know your numbers before you go to court.

Recovering money after your court case can be tricky.

They may not accept their debt and fight you till the end. They may have no assets to recover your money from or it could be pledged with banks. You can spend more on your case than what you can recover. If you are running a small business know what costs you'll incur during your case and enforcement of your decree.

If you delay in taking your case forward you may not have as much evidence as you think you do. Employees leave your company and shift data. Owner remembers his customer told him to pay. But who told him and did he have the power to give such order?

You can approach Advocate BK Singh & Advocate Sadhna Singh to help you with any questions you may have. There is always risk involved while recovering your money from customers. Don't think they have assets because they have big buildings or cars. Know your debtor and what assets are available for you to execute your decree.

Once you have a decree your only concern is recovering money. Some will pay voluntarily others you will need to execute your decree. There are various steps you can take to recover from your debtor. You can't make a bankrupt business solvent by suing them. Don't threaten them publicly as you can open up yourself to more litigation.

Factor in time spent by your management and finance team while calculating cost. You may have to go through past years of your deal with customer. Don't count on your debtors payment as business revenue until you are sure they will pay. Treat it as a receivable that you'll be collecting from court.

How do you know when to hire a commercial court lawyer?

If your debtor has accepted their bills and haven't paid you. Are they adjusting any unknown amount from your bills? Have they not honoured the agreed date of payment. Or is your debtor company shutting down? All these reasons call for immediate assistance. You can also receive a summons/arbitration notice from your debtor. Seek assistance and evaluate your position.

Understand what court your case can be moved in. What evidence do you have in your hand and what may be lacking. How much will your lawyer charge and what will be included in that fee. Time estimate from lawyer should be explained to you with all possibilities.

Advocate BK Singh & Advocate Sadhna Singh can be consulted by sending them your contract and unpaid bills. You can also share recent communication with them to determine your urgency. Your lawyer should let you know if there is anything stopping you from getting your money back. Don't be forced into a lawyer who can guarantee you your full amount.

It's also helpful to know how you'll stay in touch with your lawyer. Can you meet them remotely? Who will update you and how do they communicate what's needed from you to move the case forward. If you have offices all over you'll want to know whom to reach out to. These small steps can ease your journey while having your lawyer assist you in court that has jurisdiction over your case.

FAQs asked by our clients who need to recover their money