The Rajya Sabha has passed the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (Amendment) Bill 2026, outlining provisions for addressing payment delays, simplifying dispute resolution, and expediting payments to MSMEs.
The Rajya Sabha, India's upper house of parliament, has passed the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (Amendment) Bill 2026. The bill aims to further amend the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006, with provisions that target payment delays and dispute resolution for Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).
According to the bill, every central public sector enterprise must settle all invoices for procurement of goods or services from MSMEs on the Trade Receivables Discounting System. In case of dispute, mediation will be attempted first. If mediation fails, a reference for arbitration must be made within 30 days from the date of termination of mediation. The award in such disputes is expected to be made within 90 days from the date of completion of pleadings.
If a case has been pending for more than six months, at least 50 per cent of the awarded amount must be paid to the supplier, with the intention of expediting payment and supporting the cash flow of MSMEs.
During the debate on the Bill, Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Jitan Ram Manjhi highlighted the significant increase in credit flow to the MSME sector in recent years. He informed that the credit, which stood at around 10 lakh crore rupees in 2014-15, has now risen to over 38 lakh crore rupees.
Sumitra Balmik of BJP, M Thambidurai of AIADMK, Rajendra Jain of NCP, Masthan Rao Yadav Beedha of TDP, Ravi Chandra Vaddiraju of BRS, Pramod Boro of UPPL, and Ramji of BSP participated in the discussion among others.
After passing the Bill, the Rajya Sabha was adjourned for the day to meet again at 11:00 AM tomorrow.
Source:
Akashvani News
