Limitation Position
Whether your claim is in time, computed from when the amount fell due — and what in your record extends it.
⚖️ Money Recovery · Unpaid Dues · Civil Claims Only
Money Owed to You? Recovery Starts With the Route, Not the Notice.
Unpaid invoices, a loan that was never returned, an advance against nothing delivered, a deposit quietly withheld. Most of these are recoverable and most are handled in the wrong order — a notice goes out, a route is picked by default, and limitation is discovered late. We check whether your claim is in time, work out what figure can actually be defended, and then choose between a summary suit, an ordinary suit, arbitration and the MSEFC route on what your documents support.
Limitation checked first
Recovery-side only
Route mapped to documents
Claim figure computed, not guessed
Limitation firstBefore any notice is drafted
Route on documentsSummary · ordinary · arbitration · MSEFC
Defensible figuresPrincipal, interest and costs
Recovery-side onlyWe act for the party owed
The order that matters
Recoverable money becomes unrecoverable in a predictable way.
Almost always the same sequence: the amount falls due, reminders go out for a year, a notice is finally sent with a figure nobody has checked, and the route is chosen after the claim is already weak. Reversing that order is most of the work.
Step 1
Limitation position
Before anything else: when did the amount fall due, and is the claim still in time? Everything after this is wasted if the answer is no.
Step 2
Document and claim audit
What actually proves the liability, and what figure can be defended — principal, interest, costs.
Step 3
Demand notice
A notice that records the claim properly and, where it applies, satisfies the step a route requires before institution.
Step 4
Route selection
Summary suit, ordinary suit, arbitration or MSEFC — chosen on your documents and the value, not by habit.
Step 5
Securing the money
Attachment before judgment and interim protection considered early, so a decree later is worth something.
Three years, running from when the amount fell due — not from the last time you chased it.
Under the Limitation Act, 1963 most money claims carry a three-year period. A written acknowledgment of the dues under Section 18, or a part-payment under Section 19, can start a fresh period. Reminders that went unanswered do not. If your dues are approaching that age, the position is worth checking now rather than after the next follow-up.
Find your situation
What kind of money is stuck?
An unpaid invoice, a friendly loan and a withheld deposit are three different claims with three different routes and three different evidence problems. Pick the one that matches yours.
First documents we'd read
General guidance only. The right route, the recoverable figure and the limitation position depend on your documents, the value of the claim and any forum clause in your contract — confirmed after reviewing your file. This does not create a lawyer-client relationship.
Is this desk for you
This desk handles money recovery and financial civil claims only
That focus is deliberate. Everything here is built around getting a specific sum back — the limitation position, the claim computation, the route and the question of whether an order will be collectable at the end.
A specific sum is owed to you and you can state the figureYou can show how the money was paid, supplied or advancedThere is some written record — invoice, transfer, ledger or messageThe amount fell due within roughly the last three years, or was acknowledged sinceThe other side is identifiable, with a traceable address or registrationThe sum is worth pursuing after notice, filing and professional costs
What you receive after review
A claim that can be defended line by line
Route Map
Summary suit, ordinary suit, arbitration or MSEFC, with why the others were set aside.
Demand Notice Pack
Notice documentation that records the claim properly and satisfies any pre-institution step your route requires.
Claim Computation
Principal, interest and costs worked out to a figure that can be defended rather than argued down.
Security Note
Whether attachment before judgment or interim protection is worth seeking, so a decree is collectable.
Evidence Gap List
What is missing from the chain, and what to collect before the notice goes out.
If you want the detail
The full picture, when you need it
Open whichever panel matches your situation. The sections above are enough to get started.
The four routes, compared
Recovery is not one procedure. Which of these fits depends on your documents, the value of the claim and whether your contract already chose a forum for you.
Order XXXVII Summary Suit
Clean paperwork
For defined categories — broadly written contracts, enactments and guarantees — where the claim is a debt or liquidated demand. The defendant must seek leave to defend within ten days of service.
Note: available only for the specified categories; leave to defend can still be granted.
Ordinary Money Suit
Disputed facts
The general route where the liability or the quantum is genuinely contested, or where the claim falls outside the summary categories.
Note: slower, but the right choice where facts need to be proved.
Arbitration
Contract says so
Where the agreement carries an arbitration clause, the claim ordinarily goes to arbitration, with interim protection available under the Arbitration and Conciliation Act.
Note: the clause usually decides this, not your preference.
MSEFC — MSMED s.18
MSME suppliers
A registered micro, small or medium enterprise can refer a payment dispute to the Facilitation Council for conciliation and then arbitration, with the Act's timeline and interest provisions behind it.
Note: requires valid registration; scope is payment disputes.
Where the matter is a commercial dispute of the specified value under the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 and no urgent interim relief is sought, pre-institution mediation under Section 12A has to be exhausted first. And where a dishonoured cheque exists alongside the dues, that is a separate route with its own short deadlines — covered by our cheque dishonour desk.
Limitation — and the two things that restart it
This is the single most common reason a recoverable amount becomes unrecoverable. Three years, running from when the amount fell due — not from the last time you asked for it.
What happened…Effect on the clock…
Amount fell dueEffect: The three-year period starts here
Written acknowledgment of the duesEffect: Under s.18, a fresh period can start from the acknowledgment
Part-payment receivedEffect: Under s.19, can restart the period from that payment
You sent reminders, no replyEffect: Chasing alone does not extend the period
Verbal promise to payEffect: Hard to rely on; the writing is what carries weight
Which article of the Schedule applies depends on the nature of the claim, and the effect of any acknowledgment depends on its wording and timing. We read your record against this before recommending a route.
Interest, costs and what the claim is actually worth
Most people arrive with a figure that is larger than the claim a court would allow, and that gap weakens a notice before it is even sent.
Component 01
Principal
The amount actually outstanding after every credit, adjustment and part-payment is accounted for. This is where most claim figures quietly fall apart.
Component 02
Interest
At the contractual rate where your terms specify one. Where they do not, the Interest Act, 1978 and Section 34 of the Code of Civil Procedure govern interest, including for the pending period and after decree, at the court's discretion.
Component 03
Costs
Costs may be awarded, and under the Commercial Courts regime costs follow the event more readily. Worth claiming properly; not worth assuming.
Making sure a decree is actually collectable
A recovery order against someone who has moved their money is a piece of paper. This is considered at the start of a matter, not at the end of it.
Attachment before judgment under Order XXXVIII Rule 5, where the facts justify it
Interim protection where assets are being disposed of
Identifying what the other side actually owns, early
Guarantees or security already available in your documents
For a company debtor, the operational-creditor route under the IBC where the threshold is crossed
A settlement recorded properly, so it is enforceable if breached
Your file — the four parts we organise
Scattered invoices, transfers and chats become four organised parts. Send whatever you have; an incomplete file is fine to start.
File 1
The claim
- Invoices, bills or work orders
- Statement of the amount outstanding
- Interest basis, if contractual
- Any credit notes or adjustments
File 2
The money
- Bank statements showing the flow
- Transfer or payment proofs
- Ledger or running account
- Every part-payment received, dated
File 3
The terms
- Agreement or purchase order
- Dispute-resolution clause
- Delivery or completion record
- MSME / Udyam registration, if any
File 4
The record
- Emails and letters
- WhatsApp exchanges
- Written admissions of dues
- Any dispute raised by the other side
Before your file is reviewed, try not to…
- Let the three-year period run while you keep sending reminders.
- Accept a part-payment without recording in writing what it is against.
- Send a notice with an inflated figure you cannot substantiate line by line.
- Agree to a verbal settlement and stop keeping a record.
- Issue a demand without first checking whether your contract chose a forum.
- Threaten a route you have not confirmed is available to you.
What claimants ask first
Frequently asked questions
For most money claims the Limitation Act, 1963 allows three years, running from the date the amount became due rather than from the date you last chased it. Two provisions matter a great deal in practice: under Section 18, an acknowledgment of the liability in writing before the period expires starts a fresh three years, and under Section 19, a part-payment can have the same effect. An email in which the other side admits the dues is therefore often worth more than months of reminders. We compute your position from the documents before recommending anything.
A summary suit under Order XXXVII of the Code of Civil Procedure is the faster route for defined categories — broadly, claims on written contracts, on an enactment or on a guarantee where the sum claimed is a debt or liquidated demand in money. Its advantage is procedural: the defendant cannot simply contest as of right, but must apply for leave to defend within ten days of service, and leave is granted on the strength of the defence shown. Where your paperwork is clean, this is usually the route worth testing first; where the facts are genuinely disputed, an ordinary suit may be the more realistic one.
Often, yes. A written contract makes a claim easier to frame, but it is not the only way a liability is proved. Invoices raised and accepted without objection, a ledger or running account, delivery or completion records, bank transfers and a written exchange acknowledging the dues can together establish the claim. The absence of a signed agreement usually changes which route fits, not whether you have a claim.
Where the matter is a commercial dispute of the specified value under the Commercial Courts Act, 2015 and you are not seeking urgent interim relief, Section 12A requires pre-institution mediation to be exhausted before a suit is instituted. It is a step, not an obstacle — and a well-prepared file often resolves there, which is faster and cheaper than any court route. Whether it applies to you depends on the nature and value of the claim, which we assess on your documents.
Usually some of it. Where your contract or invoice terms specify a rate, that contractual rate is the starting point. Absent that, the Interest Act, 1978 and Section 34 of the Code of Civil Procedure deal with interest, including interest for the period the matter is pending and after the decree, at the court's discretion. Costs may also be awarded. What you should not assume is that the full notional figure you have been adding up will be allowed — we compute a defensible claim figure rather than an optimistic one.
Where the dues are an operational debt owed by a company and the default crosses the threshold under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (currently ₹1 crore), an operational-creditor route may be available and is often far more persuasive than a money suit, because the consequence for the company is existential. It is not a general recovery tool and it is not available against individuals, so it has to be assessed properly against your figures and documents before anyone threatens it.
That changes the route materially. Under Section 18 of the MSMED Act, 2006, a registered micro, small or medium enterprise can refer a payment dispute to the Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation Council, which conducts conciliation and, failing that, arbitration — with the statutory payment timeline and interest provisions of the Act behind it. For MSME suppliers this is frequently the strongest and least expensive route, and it is the first thing we check if your registration is in place.
No. Grivaa Legal is a legal-strategy and documentation-support platform. We verify the limitation position, map the route, organise the evidence file, prepare the demand notice documentation and compute the claim. Institution of proceedings and any appearance are handled by qualified legal professionals after reviewing complete documents, with whom we coordinate.
Thank you — your request is in.
Confirm in the WhatsApp chat that just opened and send your invoices and ledger, or we'll reach out within one working day.
Every month of chasing is a month off the clock.
Send the figures and the paper trail. We'll tell you whether the claim is still in time, what it is actually worth, and which route fits it.