NCLT grants Byju's one week to settle payment dispute
struggling edtech firm. Teleperformance Business Services, an operational creditor, had initiated insolvency proceedings after Byju's failed to make a ₹5 crore payment. Byju's senior counsel, Promod Nair, requested additional time from the tribunal to reach an agreement with Teleperformance Business Services.
Byju’s has acknowledged the default and agreed to a structured payment plan: an initial payment of ₹1.5 crore, followed by subsequent payments of ₹2 crore and ₹2.2 crore. Justices K Biswal and Manoj Kumar Dubey were hearing Section 9 of the insolvency petition filed by Teleperformance against Byju’s for non-payment of dues. Section 9 allows an operational creditor to initiate an insolvency process against a company due to a default.
Sukrit Kapoor, the counsel representing Teleperformance, cited an agreement that formed the basis of the dispute. Kapoor noted that Byju's began defaulting on its payments starting 14 April 2023. He added that the default involved ₹5.3 crore at an annual interest rate of 18%, as stipulated in the agreement.
Teleperformance provides business processing outsourcing services to Byju's, specifically for call centre-related services under the agreement. In October 2023, Byju’s was also issued a demand notice, which was served to the directors and at the registered offices of the company. Byju’s did not dispute the claims.
Although Byju’s claimed to have made an initial payment of ₹1.5 crore, Teleperformance has contested this claim. The tribunal, while allowing time for the parties to finalize their settlement, has scheduled a final hearing for 30 April. Milestone Alert!
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