Bill passed by LS to resolve unpaid dues to SMEs | Economic Times

The Factoring Amendment Bill which was introduced in the Lok Sabha last year was passed on Monday. The Bill seeks to amend the Act of 2011 and widen the scope of entities which can engage in factoring business. This Bill is aimed at increasing the traction on the Trade Receivables Discounting System (TReDS) platform introduced by the Reserve Bank of India in 2014.The Bill will also help the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) which are plagued by the issues of delayed payments. Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that the government had also accepted the recommendations by the Standing Committee which had looked into the Bill last year.Commenting about the Bill, Ram Iyer, Founder & CEO, Vayana Network, said, "This has been a much-needed intervention. Allowing non-NBFC factors and other entities to undertake factoring is expected to increase the supply of funds available to SMEs. This may result in bringing down the cost of funds and enable greater access to the credit-starved small businesses, ensuring timely payments against their receivables. The recommendations of the Standing Committee are expected to increase the traction of TReDS platforms. Steps like integration with GSTN, mandatory listing of the government dues and direct filing of charges will improve the operational efficiency and acceptability of the platforms among the financiers."TReDS, which was introduced to improve liquidity with small businesses, has not been able to take off properly. According to the data accessed by ET, of the total transaction volume of about Rs 36,000 crore conducted by the three TReDS exchanges in India so far, only Rs 2,700 crore was from central public-sector enterprises (CPSEs).TReDS works as an exchange between lenders, buyers and MSMEs. Lenders bid to settle the claims of an MSME supplier upon the acknowledgment of the invoice by the buyer. The buyer then repays the lender, which is usually a bank, after a predetermined period.There is no collateral involved, and lenders consider the buyer's credit rating while paying the supplier. RXIL, Invoicemart and M1Xchange are the three TReDS platforms.(With inputs from ET Bureau)