NCLT begins insolvency proceedings against Flipkart for non-payment of dues to supplier; Karnataka HC stays order

The Bengaluru bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) reportedly ordered insolvency proceedings against e-commerce major Flipkart for defaulting payments to one of its LED television suppliers. However, the e-tailer said it obtained a stay from the Karnataka High Court against the NCLT order, according to media reports. CloudWalker Streaming Technologies, an LED TV supplier of Flipkart, had filed a petition under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) against the e-commerce firm alleging non-payment of the outstanding dues of Rs 18 crore, said a report in CNBC TV18. [caption id=“attachment_7311851” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. Reuters.[/caption] The company had paid only Rs 85 crore as against admitted dues of Rs 103 crores for supplying the LED TVs. The complainant claimed that Flipkart did not collect all the LED TVs after placing an order, saying that shortage of warehouse space, the report said. However, some other reports claimed that Flipkart’s dues to the Mumbai based LED TV supplier were Rs 26.95 crore. The single judge bench of Rajeswara Rao Vittanala said that Flipkart defaulted paying the balance amount despite repeated requests from the petitioner, CloudWalker. The judge then appointed Deepak Saruparia as the resolution professional (RP) in the case, said a report in The Economic Times. However, Flipkart claimed that it already got a stay from the Karnataka High Court against the NCLT order, the report said. “Karnataka High Court has stayed the order of the NCLT in favour of Flipkart. This is an ongoing commercial litigation which we are challenging. At this stage, we have no further comments.” a Flipkart spokesperson was quoted as saying in the report. In July this year, CloudWalker took Flipkart to the NCLT for non-payment towards procured imported TVs as per the supply agreement, said a report in Business Today. The e-commerce firm claimed that it had already paid over Rs 85.57 crore and was not liable to pay any further to the petitioner in this instance, the report said. In August last year, US retailer Walmart had acquired Flipkart for $16 billion.