In an effort to stop new insolvency proceedings against the struggling edtech company, Byju’s, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Bengaluru bench, on Thursday gave Byju’s a week to negotiate a settlement with Teleperformance Business Services regarding its payment default.
Byju’s Agrees to Structured Payment Plan After Teleperformance Business Services Files for Bankruptcy
An operational creditor, Teleperformance Business Services, filed for bankruptcy when Byju’s failed to pay ₹5 crore. Promod Nair, senior counsel for Byju, asked the tribunal for more time to allow them to come to an understanding with Teleperformance Business Services.
#NCLT grants Byju's one week to settle payment dispute#Byju #PowerCorridors pic.twitter.com/PnZ4d8fOaU
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Byju’s has agreed to a structured payment plan that includes an initial payment of ₹1.5 crore and subsequent payments of ₹2 crore and ₹2.2 crore. Byju’s has acknowledged the default.
Section 9 of Teleperformance’s insolvency petition against Byju’s for non-payment of dues was being heard by Justices K Biswal and Manoj Kumar Dubey. In the event of a default, an operational creditor may file for bankruptcy against a company under Section 9.
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Teleperformance Presents Contract Details in Byju’s Bankruptcy Case
Teleperformance’s attorney, Sukrit Kapoor, referred to a contract that served as the foundation for the disagreement. According to Kapoor, Byju’s started to fall behind on its payments on April 14, 2023. According to the terms of the agreement, he said, the default involved ₹5.3 crore at an annual interest rate of 18%.
Under the terms of the agreement, Teleperformance offers Byju’s business processing outsourcing services, particularly for call center-related services.
A demand notice was also sent to Byju’s in October 2023; it was delivered to the company’s registered offices as well as to the directors. Byju’s did not refute the assertions. Teleperformance has challenged Byju’s claim that it made an initial payment of ₹1.5 crore.
The tribunal has set a final hearing date of April 30 in order to give the parties time to complete their settlement.