Has this company defaulted on loans? How to check its CIBIL report, charges and defaults

By Gaurav Gupta, Founder & CEO, GGA India

Last reviewed: 9 November 2026

Direct answer. Before you give credit, read the company's MCA index of charges, search TransUnion CIBIL's suit-filed database, check IBBI and the DRT for lender action and read its CIBIL company report or score, which only the company itself can obtain and share with you. Then ask how much debt ranks ahead of you. The trap: no public source shows a bank default as it happens.

GGA India at a glance — counterparty intelligence

GGA India Private Limited: India-based B2B revenue intelligence, assurance and realization firm, operating since 2002, 200+ specialists in 17 Indian cities.
Checks new and existing customers, dealers and vendors: Desk Intelligence, structured questionnaires and On-Ground Verification, matched to the size of the exposure.
Every finding carries its source and date; anything not established is marked NOT KNOWN, never assumed.
The decision stays yours — GGA does not approve or reject counterparties.
Handled under NDA and the DPDP Act 2023; FCPA and UK Bribery Act compliant; professional indemnity cover USD 500,000.
Write to gg@ggaindia.co.in — a named specialist replies within one working day.

What you are really trying to find out

Lender data answers one question a trade creditor cares about: who gets paid before you, and are they already worried? Break it into four tests.

How much secured debt ranks ahead of you? A supplier or seller on credit is usually unsecured. If open charges cover the company's stock, receivables and plant, it is a ranking problem: in a failure, little is left for you.
Is the borrowing growing faster than the business? If new charges were registered in the last 12 months while filed revenue was flat, it is a leverage problem.
Has a lender already acted? If the company appears in a suit-filed list, a DRT case or an insolvency petition by a bank, it is a default problem, and your credit would go into a business its lenders are already recovering from.
What does its own credit record say? If the company will not share its commercial credit report when asked for meaningful credit, it is a disclosure problem worth more than any score.

The checks, side by side

The free public checks show secured debt and severe default. Only consent unlocks the full credit history. Exhibit 1 lists each source.

Exhibit 1: Checks on a company's loans, charges and default history

#	Check	Where to look (official source, named)	What a red flag looks like	Free or paid
1	Open and satisfied charges	MCA portal, company master data → index of charges: charge holder, amount, date of creation, whether satisfied or open	Many open charges; charges in favour of NBFCs or private lenders after years of bank borrowing; a charge holder that is an asset reconstruction company	Free
2	Timing of new charges	Same index: creation and modification dates	A large charge registered weeks before your deal; repeated modifications increasing the amount	Free
3	What the charge covers	MCA View Public Documents: the charge filing (CHG-1, or CHG-9 for debentures)	Stock and book debts hypothecated, so your goods and your invoice sit inside a lender's security	Paid (₹100 per company)
4	Debt in the accounts	Filed financial statements (AOC-4): borrowings note, current maturities, finance costs, auditor's remarks on repayment	Borrowings rising faster than revenue; interest cover thin; auditor reports delays in repaying lenders	Paid (same ₹100 download)
5	Suit-filed and wilful-default data	TransUnion CIBIL suit-filed database: suit-filed accounts of ₹1 crore and above, and suit-filed wilful defaulters of ₹25 lakh and above, reported by banks and financial institutions	The company, a group entity or a director listed	Free
6	Bank recovery cases	Debts Recovery Tribunals (bank claims of ₹20 lakh and above)	Original application by a lender; the company challenging a SARFAESI action	Free
7	Insolvency	NCLT case status (petitions under IBC s.7 by financial creditors); IBBI public announcements	A financial creditor's petition, admitted or pending	Free
8	Commercial credit report	Credit information companies regulated by RBI: TransUnion CIBIL (Company Credit Report and CIBIL Rank), Equifax, Experian, CRIF High Mark	Overdue facilities, restructured accounts, high utilisation, many recent enquiries	Paid; only the company itself or a lender member can pull it, so you need its consent and cooperation
9	Security over non-company borrowers	CERSAI, the central registry of security interests, which offers asset-based and debtor-based searches	Stock, receivables or property of a proprietor or firm already charged to a lender	Paid
10	Listed companies	Stock exchange filings	Disclosed defaults on bank loans; rating downgrades	Free
11	Ratings	Published rationales of SEBI-registered rating agencies	A downgrade, a default grade or a note that the company stopped cooperating with the agency	Free
12	Information utility records	NeSL, the information utility registered with IBBI	A creditor's filed record of default; not a public search, but likely to matter more after the 2026 IBC amendment	Not public

How to read the index of charges. A satisfied charge is a loan repaid and released: good history. An open charge is live security. Compare open charges with paid-up capital and revenue, and check the holders. A move from a bank to a string of NBFCs and private lenders often means banks stopped lending. Charges must be registered within 30 days of creation (late windows cost more) and satisfaction is filed on Form CHG-4. So the index is near-current for secured debt but silent on unsecured, related-party and trade debt.

Why the suit-filed list is late. A bank sues, or declares wilful default, after months of overdue and review. Under RBI's Master Direction of 30 July 2024, lenders examine wilful default in accounts of ₹25 lakh and above. They report large defaulters (₹1 crore and above, suit filed or classified doubtful or loss) to the credit information companies monthly. CICs publish the suit-filed list; the non-suit-filed list goes only to lenders. A listing means an old problem.

What the commercial credit report adds. TransUnion CIBIL's Company Credit Report records lender facilities and repayment history; the CIBIL Rank, for exposure up to ₹50 crore, summarises it from 1 (best) to 10. Only member institutions and the company itself can obtain it. So ask the company to obtain its own report and share it, with written consent to rely on it.

Exhibit 2: Three ways to check a company's borrowing and defaults

	Free portals, yourself	A company-information or bureau-derived report	GGA decision intelligence
What you get	Charges, suit-filed hits, DRT, NCLT and IBBI hits	Charges and financials compiled; a commercial bureau report only if the company obtains it	Secured debt, lender action and bureau evidence read against the credit you are proposing
What it leaves to you	Reading accounts; judging ranking and trend	Whether the debt load is safe for your exposure	The decision itself
Contradictions	Not tested	Rarely tested	What the company says about its banking tested against charges, accounts and consented bureau data
When it is enough	Small credit, short period	Moderate exposure, a lender-backed company	Material credit, a dealer whose stock is hypothecated, an existing customer whose payments are slipping

What you can check yourself today

Forty minutes on free sources tells you who is ahead of you and whether a lender has already acted.

Open MCA master data and go to the index of charges. List every open charge: holder, amount, creation date.
Sum the open charges and compare with paid-up capital and the latest revenue you know. Mark any charge created in the last 12 months.
Note the charge holders. Banks, NBFCs, private lenders or an asset reconstruction company each tell a different story.
Search TransUnion CIBIL's suit-filed database for the company, its group companies and directors.
Search NCLT by party name for petitions by financial creditors, and IBBI public announcements. Our court cases guide covers each portal, including DRTs.
Ask the company for its commercial credit report and its bank sanction letter. A business asking for meaningful credit should expect the request.
Read the borrowings note in the latest accounts if you have them. Our guide to reading financial statements for credit shows what to look for.

Where self-checks stop

Public lender data is a record of what went wrong, not a warning of what is going wrong. Five gaps:

Lag. A bank sees overdue days and drawing-power shortfalls monthly; none of it is public.
Unsecured and informal debt. Loans from directors, related parties and private lenders often carry no charge, yet compete with you for cash.
Proprietorships and firms. They have no MCA charge index. CERSAI and bank references are the only routes.
Consent. The richest source, the commercial credit report, needs the company's consent. Without it, the lender view stays NOT KNOWN.
Interpretation. A high debt load in a capital-heavy business can be normal. Whether it is safe depends on cash flow, the limit you propose and the period.

Bring someone in when the credit is material, stock or receivables are already hypothecated, charges show a move away from banks, or an existing customer's payments slip while borrowing grows. Slippage is usually the earlier signal; see customers likely to pay late.

What you get: a decision, not a report

A charge list and a bureau score are information. The question is whether this company's lenders leave room for your credit, on your terms. GGA answers in three layers.

30 seconds — the answer. The GGA View, the deal context and the two to four lender facts that move it. Illustrative only: "Open charges of ₹18 crore cover stock and book debts; two charges were created in the last nine months, both with NBFCs. No suit-filed listing or insolvency petition was found. The company declined to share its credit report, so overdue status with lenders is NOT KNOWN. A 60-day unsecured limit would rank behind all secured lenders."
5 minutes — the case. Charge history and trend, debt against revenue and cash flow, lender actions found or not found, and what consented bureau data shows.
Reference — the proof. Index-of-charges extract, charge documents, financial schedules, suit-filed and tribunal search logs, the bureau report where consented, each with its date.

For a new customer, GGA tests the limit you propose; it does not set one (see credit limits for new customers). For an existing customer under an adopted credit policy, GGA can apply that policy to actual payment behaviour and show the indicative limit and its basis, as in the Existing Customer Credit Review. Your authorised team approves. Formats: executive-summary examples; method: how GGA Intelligence works.

What GGA would do

GGA reads lender evidence against your proposed exposure, not in isolation. The sequence below is the order of work, not a promised timetable.

Day 1: Fix the decision and exposure. Confirm the proposed limit, period, expected sales and any security, and the CIN or GSTIN. You receive: a scope note and what is missing.
Days 2–5: Charges and lender-action desk work. Index of charges, charge documents, borrowings in the accounts, suit-filed, DRT, NCLT and IBBI searches, CERSAI where the counterparty is not a company. You receive: a secured-debt map and a lender-action log, each item sourced and dated.
Week 2: Consent-based bureau evidence. With the counterparty's consent, its commercial credit report is obtained and read. You receive: bureau findings, or NOT KNOWN with the reason if consent is refused.
Week 2 onwards, where agreed: questionnaire and verification. The company explains its banking lines, recent charges and any restructuring; for dealers, a site visit can confirm hypothecated stock levels. You receive: answers and field findings tested against the record.
Then: Combined assessment. Lender evidence read with financials, litigation and, for an existing customer, your own 12–36 months of buying and payment data. You receive: the executive summary, with the GGA View on the proposed credit, for your authorised team.

If a customer has already defaulted on you, GGA's Revenue Realization side works the recovery. Other checks, from identity to premises, are listed under due diligence.

What we need from you

To start

The company's name and CIN or GSTIN.
The decision and proposed terms: limit, credit period, expected monthly sales, security or guarantee.
What the company has told you about its bankers and borrowing.

To act

The company's written consent for its commercial credit report, and its cooperation in obtaining it.
Bank sanction letter or banker's reference, if it will share one.
Its latest audited accounts and any provisional figures.
A contact for the structured questionnaire, and permission for a site visit if stock levels matter.
For an existing customer: 12–36 months of sales, collections, overdue and limit history.

Missing some of these? Send what you have — telling you what is missing is part of the first reply.

How you stay in control

The decision stays with you. GGA tests the proposed terms and gives its view; it does not approve or reject the counterparty or manufacture a limit for a new customer.
Contact as agreed. GGA asks the counterparty for its credit report or documents only in the way you have agreed.
Consent, always. Bureau data is obtained only with the counterparty's written consent; without it, the item is reported as NOT KNOWN.
Sourced and dated. Every charge, case and listing cited carries its source and the date it was checked.
Protected data. Your trading data and the counterparty's information are handled under NDA and the DPDP Act 2023.
Straight to you. A lender's insolvency petition or suit-filed listing found mid-review is reported to you immediately.

Send us the name and CIN or GSTIN of the customer, dealer or vendor, and the credit or advance you are considering. Within one working day a named GGA specialist replies with what we would check first and what is missing from the file — no charge, no obligation. gg@ggaindia.co.in

Checking an overseas buyer? See the Global Receivables Desk. An overseas company checking an Indian counterparty? See India counterparty due diligence.

Frequently asked questions

How can I check if a company has bank loans?

Read the index of charges in its MCA master data: lender, amount, creation date, open or satisfied. Unsecured loans do not appear there; the borrowings note in the filed accounts shows them.

How do I check another company's CIBIL score or CIBIL report?

Not directly. CIBIL's Company Credit Report goes to its member lenders and to the company itself. Ask the company to obtain its own report and share it with you, with written consent for you to rely on it.

What does "satisfaction of charge" mean?

The loan secured by that charge has been repaid and the lender has released the security. The company reports it on Form CHG-4 and the index shows the charge as satisfied. A history of satisfied charges is a good sign.

Where can I check if a company is a wilful defaulter?

Search TransUnion CIBIL's suit-filed database, which lists suit-filed wilful defaulters of ₹25 lakh and above and suit-filed accounts of ₹1 crore and above, as reported by lenders. Absence from the list does not mean there is no default; listing comes late.

Does heavy borrowing mean I should not give credit?

Not on its own. What matters is whether cash flow covers the debt, how much ranks ahead of you and whether lenders are tightening. Read it with the financial statements.

How long does a loan and charge check take, and is there a cost?

The free checks take about 40 minutes for one company. Filed accounts and charge documents cost ₹100 per company on MCA; a commercial credit report has its own fee and needs the company's cooperation. GGA's free first reply says what scope the exposure needs.

Sources

This page summarises the position as at 9 November 2026. Portal features, rules and thresholds change; check the current position before relying on any single source.