MSME 45-day payment checker: what to pay by when, and what is at risk at 31 March
Drop in your bill list, mark which vendors are micro or small, and see each bill’s last safe payment date, the expense that will be disallowed if it is still unpaid at year end, and the interest the MSMED Act adds.
- Counts from the acceptance date, with 15 days unless there is a written agreement
- Reads Zoho Books and Tally exports, or any Excel
- Clause 22 working and MSME Form 1 extract
- No sign-up, no limits
Your files stay with you. Everything is worked out on this computer, and the page keeps working with the internet switched off.
Check your MSME bills
or drop a file on this row
Export the whole year, paid bills included. Paid bills are what show whether payments were on time.
or drop a file on this row
or drop a file on this row
or drop a file on this row
Why the numbers differ from your software
How the rule works
Who is covered
Vendors registered on Udyam as micro or small enterprises. Medium enterprises are not covered. Retail and wholesale traders can register on Udyam, but their benefits are limited to priority sector lending, so most practitioners leave them out. Bills for goods or services accepted before the vendor registered are not covered.
15 days or 45 days, from acceptance
The time limit comes from section 15 of the MSMED Act. With no written agreement, the bill must be paid within 15 days of acceptance. With a written agreement, the agreed date applies, but never more than 45 days from acceptance. Acceptance is the day the goods were delivered or the service was given, unless you objected in writing within 15 days, in which case it is the day the objection is removed.
What is disallowed at year end
A bill that is past its time limit and still unpaid on 31 March cannot be deducted that year. It is allowed in the year it is actually paid. Paying before the return is filed does not help, unlike most other items in section 43B. A bill paid late but before 31 March is not disallowed, though interest is still owed.
The change from 1 April 2026
From 2023-24 to 2025-26 the rule is section 43B(h) of the Income-tax Act, 1961. From the 2026-27 tax year it is section 37(2)(g) of the Income-tax Act, 2025. The rule itself is the same.
Interest
Section 16 of the MSMED Act adds compound interest at three times the RBI bank rate, with monthly rests, from the day after the time limit. The bank rate is the MSF rate, not the repo rate. This interest is not deductible for income tax.
Tax audit and Form 1
Clause 22 of Form 3CD asks for the interest that is not deductible, the total payable to micro and small enterprises in the year, and how much of it was paid within the time limit. Companies also file MSME Form 1 every half year for amounts outstanding more than 45 days.
What this version doesn't do
Before you ask
Does any of my data reach Aspara?
No. The files are opened and worked out on your computer. Load the page, switch off the internet, and it still works. We count that the tool was used, which file layout was read and a rough row count; nothing from inside the files.
Why does it show more at risk than my accounting software?
Many packages, including the built-in reports in Tally and Zoho Books, count 45 days from the bill date for every MSME vendor. The law allows 45 days only with a written agreement, otherwise 15, and counts from acceptance. Mark the vendors that have written agreements and the difference shrinks to what the law actually says.
Are traders covered by 43B(h)?
Most practitioners say no, because a Ministry of MSME order of July 2021 limits traders’ benefits to priority sector lending. There is no CBDT ruling. The tool leaves traders out by default and lets you include them.
If I pay after 31 March but before filing the return, is the deduction saved?
No. Section 43B(h) is outside the relief for payments made before the return due date. The expense is allowed in the year you pay.
Does it work with Zoho Books and Tally?
Yes. Export Bills and Payments Made from Zoho Books, or Bills Payable from Tally, and drop them in. Any other Excel works once you point to the columns.
What does it cost?
Nothing, and there is no sign-up or limit.
Get this list every week, without exporting files
We can set up the same check inside Zoho Books: MSME vendors marked once, and a short list each week of what must be paid and by when, before anything crosses the limit.