TaxTMI 
TaxTMI 
2019 (7) TMI 1426
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....The Agreement was for a period of one year and as per Clause 3.2 of the Agreement, it would get auto renewed for further period of one year each unless terminated by either party. As per Clause 4.2 of the Agreement, the Appellant would send monthly invoices to the Respondent for the fees accrued in the previous month in accordance with the terms set out in Schedule 3. Thereafter, the Respondent would verify the invoices from the Appellant and thereafter pay such valid invoices within 15 business days. Further, as per Clause 4.5 of the Agreement, the Respondent was liable to pay interest at the rate of 1.5% per month on any sums overdue after a period of 15 business days from the receipt of a valid invoice. 3. In between 2014-2015, the Appellant provided the said services to the Respondent from time to time for which the Appellant raised invoices at the end of every month towards the consumption of the said service in terms of the aforesaid Clause. The Appellant continued to provide services to the satisfaction of the Respondent and the Respondent did not raise any complaints about the services rendered by the Appellant or about the invoices raised by the Appellant in the years 201....
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.... Invoice Date Invoice Reference Number Amount (Rs.) 31/10/2014 CRM/POST/Oct/14-15/240 197,749 30/11/2014 CRM/PRE/2014/11/00038 885,860 30/11/2014 CRM/POST/Nov/14-15/023 730,513 31/12/2014 CRM/POST/DEC/14-15/015 1,067,965 31/12/2014 CRM/POST-EMAIL/14-15/ DEC/0013 825,615 31/01/2015 CRM/POST/Jan/14-15/259 1,974,642 04/02/2015 CRM/PRE/2015/02/00006 704,618 28/02/2015 CRM/POST/Feb/14-15/259 1,482,916 28/02/2015 CRM/POST-EMAIL/Feb/14-15 879,869 31/03/2015 CRM/POST/Mar/14-15/247 2,446,308 31/03/2015 CRM/POST-EMAIL/14-15/Mar/0007 931,952 30/04/2015 CRM/POST-EMAIL/15-16/Apr/0014 1,772,095 30/04/2015 CRM/POST/Apr/15-16/297 3,046,507 31/05/2015 CRM/POST-EMAIL/15-16/MAY/0006 1,102,163 31/05/2015 CRM/POST/May/15-16/303 2,526,703 30/06/2015 CRM/POST/Jun/15-16/303 2,005,191 30/06/2015 CRM/POST-EMAIL/15-16/JUN/0008 1,180,077 31/07/2015 CRM/POST-EMAIL/15-16/JUL/0007 308,497 31/07/2015 CRM/POST/JUL/15-16/330 594,243 31/08/2015 CRM/POST-EMAIL/15-16/AUG/0007 121,391 31/08/2015 CRM/POST/Aug/15-16/354 34,332 TOTAL AMOUNT (A) 24,819,206 (B)Total Payments Recei....
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...., if in, company's opinion, the financial condition of buyer so warrants." 12. As detailed supra, there is a bona fide dispute exist in respect of alleged debt. Moreover, the amount itself is under dispute, the Petitioner himself stated that the Respondents are prompt in payment till 2014 and thereafter, committed default. Therefore, instead of settling their issues in terms of the Agreement mentioned supra, the present Company Petition is filed by seeking to recover the disputed amounts rather than to initiate appropriate Civil Proceedings. As per Demand Notice issued under the Code, the first default arise on 31.10.2014 and the present petition was filed in January 2018 as to how petition is filed within limitation as prescribed under the Act. 9. The Adjudicating Authority held that the claim is barred by limitation and there is existence of dispute. 10. On notice, the Respondent has appeared and filed reply affidavit. But learned Counsel for the Respondent failed to produce before the Appellate Tribunal any letter or email to suggest that a dispute was raised about the SMS services prior to the issue of Demand Notice dated 24th October, 2017. 11. Learned Counsel for the Res....
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....he review is sufficient to support the invoices issued by Gupshup to our client to enable our client to verify the invoices and request Haribhakti & Co. LLP to remit the amount to Gupshup." 12. In the present case, the Respondent has not disputed that the Appellant has provided text SMS services to the Respondent through internet. The Respondent has availed the services pursuant to the contract in question from time to time till the Appellant terminated the services. 13. The Hon'ble Supreme Court in "Innoventive Industries Ltd. Vs. ICICI Bank and Ors. - (2018) 1 SCC 407" observed and held as follows:- "27. The scheme of the Code is to ensure that when a default takes place, in the sense that a debt becomes due and is not paid, the insolvency resolution process begins. Default is defined in Section 3(12) in very wide terms as meaning non-payment of a debt once it becomes due and payable, which includes non-payment of even part thereof or an instalment amount. For the meaning of "debt", we have to go to Section 3(11), which in turn tells us that a debt means a liability of obligation in respect of a "claim" and for the meaning of "claim", we have to go back to Section 3(6) which ....
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....e debtor is entitled to point out that a default has not occurred in the sense that the "debt", which may also include a disputed claim, is not due. A debt may not be due if it is not payable in law or in fact. The moment the adjudicating authority is satisfied that a default has occurred, the application must be admitted unless it is incomplete, in which case it may give notice to the applicant to rectify the defect within 7 days of receipt of a notice from the adjudicating authority. Under sub-section (7), the adjudicating authority shall then communicate the order passed to the financial creditor and corporate debtor within 7 days of admission or rejection of such application, as the case may be. 29. The scheme of Section 7 stands in contrast with the scheme under Section 8 where an operational creditor is, on the occurrence of a default, to first deliver a demand notice of the unpaid debt to the operational debtor in the manner provided in Section 8(1) of the Code. Under Section 8(2), the corporate debtor can, within a period of 10 days of receipt of the demand notice or copy of the invoice mentioned in sub-section (1), bring to the notice of the operational creditor the exi....