Authority: National Company Law Tribunal, Ahmedabad Bench, Court No. 2
Order Date: 09/07/2026
Case Overview
The application was filed on 21.10.2024 by Agniforma Techcraft Pvt Ltd (Operational Creditor) against Luxury Bay LLP (Corporate Debtor) under Section 9 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. The Operational Creditor sought initiation of Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) for a default amount of ₹1,09,24,067.86, comprising ₹1,01,68,299.86 in principal and ₹7,55,768 in interest calculated under the MSME Act, 2006 as of 20.07.2024. The date of default was mentioned as 14.09.2024.
The Operational Creditor, specializing in luxury glass processing and architectural hardware products, claimed it supplied materials to the Corporate Debtor, which operates in retail trade. The creditor issued demand notices in Form-3 and Form-4 dated 26.07.2024 via speed post and email. The Corporate Debtor replied on 05.08.2024, disputing the claim and alleging payments were made to another company (Agniforma Private Limited) and that amounts were set off against invoices.
The Corporate Debtor contested the petition's maintainability, arguing there were pre-existing disputes on factual and accounting grounds, including advance payments, adjustments, alleged diversion of funds, and non-supply of goods. They also highlighted that one of the Operational Creditor's directors, Mr. Nirmeet Kacheria, was a partner in the Corporate Debtor, and proceedings arose from LLP disputes. The respondent filed additional affidavits with communications (emails, WhatsApp, invoices) to substantiate these disputes.
The Operational Creditor filed a rejoinder, denying allegations and clarifying it was not party to any LLP agreement or arbitration proceedings between the Corporate Debtor's partners (Mr. Bipin Bindra, Mr. Nirmeet Kacheria, and Mr. Manoj Arora) before the Bombay High Court.
The tribunal noted several issues: the debt claim was based on a group summary involving other parties; invoices lacked payment terms, dates, or proper delivery proof; and there was evidence of pre-existing disputes, including an email dated 16.03.2024 from the Corporate Debtor complaining about defective materials and inflated invoices. The tribunal also observed that the Operational Creditor failed to produce a board resolution authorizing the application filing.
Final Outcome
The NCLT rejected the application (CP (IB)/10(AHM)/2025), finding pre-existing disputes between the parties and insufficient evidence to establish an undisputed operational debt. The petition was disposed of accordingly.
Topics: Insolvency Proceedings, MSME Debt Dispute