The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) initiated insolvency proceedings against the Walmart-owned e-commerce company Flipkart for defaulting on Rs 18 crore payment to one of its suppliers. However, the NCLT order was stayed by the Karnataka High Court after Flipkart approached it.
The Bengaluru bench of the NCLT initiated Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) against Flipkart India under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, after a case was filed by Cloudwalker Streaming Technologies seeking CIRP against Flipkart on the grounds that it has committed default on payment of Rs 26.95 crore on supply of LED TVs.
A moratorium had been placed prohibiting the pending case judgements, sale of assets and property, and the Board of Directors asked to extend full cooperation to the insolvency resolution process.
In its petition, Cloudwalker told NCLT that Flipkart failed to collect all the TVs ordered, failed to pay the excess charges and costs as promised and failed to honour its commitment. Cloudwalker claimed that due to Flipkart's failure in fulfilling its commitment, it was forced to unload the uncollected goods at heavily marked-down price, just so it could remain afloat.
Cloudwalker said it had sent a demand notice to which there has been no reply from Flipkart, and said that it has "consistently and persistently failed, omitted and neglected to discharge its admitted and acknowledged debt and liability." Cloudwalker, in the petition, said that it is apparent that Flipkart is commercially insolvent and is unable to pay its debts.
Flipkart argued in NCLT that the petition is not maintainable either in law or on facts and it is liable to be rejected with exemplary costs.
Flipkart said that it has already paid Rs 85.57 crore and the allegation that it has no money to pay its liabilities or debt is "baseless, frivolous, bereft of truth and filed with malafide intentions".
"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," Flipkart spokesperson said in an email response.