Your customers in Guwahati aren't paying. Where the money is stuck, and how to get it in

By GGA India

Last reviewed: 9 November 2026

Direct answer. In the Northeast, distance turns small gaps into long delays: a lost proof of delivery from Imphal, a tea estate waiting on the auction, an Assam works bill that rolls into the next year. GGA's Guwahati office closes the delivery evidence first, then gets each bill on the payable list before March. Email one Northeast invoice and its LR to gg@ggaindia.co.in.

GGA India at a glance

GGA India Private Limited is a B2B revenue-realization firm, operating since 2002, headquartered in Gurugram.
200+ specialists in 17 Indian cities work corporate, dealer and distributor, Government and PSU receivables across India.
Success commission is based on cash actually received. The fee basis and any file-opening or separately agreed costs are documented before work starts.
Your customers pay you directly. GGA never receives or holds your money.
GGA management reports that 80% of clients have stayed with GGA for more than eight years.

GGA in Guwahati: a local GGA team, part of GGA's 17-city network, with head office at 294 Udyog Vihar Phase IV, Gurugram. To meet the Guwahati team, contact GGA.

What holds payments up for Guwahati businesses

Guwahati is the gateway for eight states, so every Northeast receivable travels a longer chain than it would elsewhere.

Most national brands run Northeast distribution from Guwahati, selling on to sub-stockists in Shillong, Itanagar or Imphal. Three sectors set the pace. Tea: Assam grows a majority of India's tea, and the Guwahati Tea Auction Centre, set up in 1970, is one of the world's largest CTC centres. Oil and gas: Oil India Limited and refineries at Guwahati, Numaligarh, Digboi and Bongaigaon buy equipment, services and contract labour. And state-funded roads, water and building works.

Exhibit 1: Four Northeast blockages and the test for each

Cause	Typical account	Test	Type
Delivery evidence missing	Distributor or sub-stockist in another Northeast state	Buyer disputes receipt and you hold no signed POD or LR	Disputed
Distributor drift	Guwahati distributor still ordering	Secondary sales slowed and old bills sit behind new orders	Promise-led
Estate cash cycle	Supplier to a tea estate	Estate pays after the flush and auction, not on your due date	Promise-led
Year-end rollover	Assam works or Jal Jeevan Mission bill; oil PSU final bill	Bill not on the department's payable list, or a closing document missing	Process-blocked

The pattern behind it. Across eight states, unsigned delivery proofs and old bills parked behind new orders add up to revenue sold but not collected. The cause is both external — a long chain of sub-stockists — and internal, where no one owns the POD trail or the ageing balances. GGA's answer is the Invoice Lifecycle Owner, one owner from submission to cash; read how it works for distributor books.

Government, PSU and large buyers in Assam

An Assam bill that is not complete and on the payable list by March rolls into next year.

In August 2026 the state still owed about ₹2,808 crore to Jal Jeevan Mission contractors. Contractors report the Finance Department clearing only part of Public Works roads bills before a year closes, with the rest rolling forward. In October 2024 the Gauhati High Court ordered the state to pay a contractor whose bills had been pending two years, rejecting a budget-shortage explanation. Oil PSU final bills stall on one closing document: a completion certificate, a material reconciliation or a guarantee return.

Assam's micro and small suppliers file delayed-payment claims on the MSME ODR portal (odr.msme.gov.in), which routes them to the Facilitation Council with jurisdiction. An Assam buyer that misses the MSMED Act's 45-day limit owes compound interest at three times the RBI bank rate; the Council has 90 days to decide, and 75% of an award must be deposited before any challenge. Writs against the state are heard by the Gauhati High Court in Guwahati.

What GGA would do

GGA settles delivery evidence before any Northeast visit, because on long routes the POD is the first thing disputed.

Days 1–3: Reconcile distributor and estate ledgers. Schemes, returns and transit-damage claims. You receive: a reconciled statement showing which Northeast accounts are POD gaps, drift, estate timing or rollover.
Week 1: Close proof-of-delivery gaps. LRs and signed PODs, or the buyer's stock receipt where the POD is lost. You receive: a POD gap list, each line closed or backed by other evidence.
Weeks 2–4: Visit with an agenda. A named owner visits distributors and sub-stockists; estate suppliers get dates tied to the flush and auction cycle. You receive: signed balance confirmations and a dated plan per account.
Weeks 2–6: Get bills on the list before year-end. Each Assam works or Jal Jeevan Mission bill passed, certified and listed before March; each oil PSU final bill matched to its missing document. You receive: a per-bill status, early enough to stop the rollover.
Month 2 onwards: Collect and classify. Within six months every overdue Northeast rupee is in your bank or classified as at risk or not collectable, with the reason evidenced.

For one trade channel client, 27% of a badly aged book was recovered in six months. Success commission is based on cash actually received. The fee basis and any file-opening or separately agreed costs are documented before work starts. GST extra. A file-opening fee may apply to legacy or Government cases.

What we need from you

For Northeast accounts the delivery trail decides the case, so send the LRs as early as you can.

To start

Distributor or buyer ledger and ageing
The unpaid invoices, with the state each was shipped to
Your last scheme or claim settlement note, or the department's work order

To act

LRs, transporter receipts and signed proof of delivery
Scheme circulars and credit notes for the period
For tea estates: supply orders and the estate's goods acknowledgement
For state works: work order, measurement book entry and bill-passed status
For oil PSUs: completion certificate, material reconciliation statement and bank guarantee copy

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

How you stay in control

Supply decisions and every out-of-state visit stay with you.

Your customer pays you directly. GGA never receives or holds your money.
Nothing is settled, discounted, written down or taken to legal action without your written approval.
GGA manages the communication with your customers; escalation steps are discussed with you.
One named GGA owner per account. You see every action: a monthly report to your CEO and CFO, a fortnightly review call, and an immediate flash report when a risk appears.
Your data stays yours: signed NDA, access only for the people who need it, retention and deletion governed by the engagement terms and applicable law. DPDP Act 2023 compliant.
Fees are agreed in writing before work starts. The term is six months, reviewed with you every month.
Assam Government and PSU work is documentation and approvals only. GGA works the timing and the queue, never the decision.
We never tell a distributor that supply will stop unless you have decided it.
Trips to accounts outside Assam are agreed with you in advance.

Send us one unpaid invoice. Email the distributor, buyer or department name, city, amount, invoice date and whatever you have from the 'To start' list to gg@ggaindia.co.in. Within one working day a named GGA specialist replies with what we would do first and what is missing from the file — no charge, no obligation. For a whole book, ask for a complimentary Receivables Position Review.

A different situation? Foreign company owed money by an Indian business → India Desk · Indian exporter owed by an overseas buyer → Global Receivables Desk

Frequently asked questions

What paperwork do you need for a distributor in Manipur or Meghalaya?

The ledger, the unpaid invoices and your last scheme settlement give a first view. To act, the LRs and signed proof of delivery.

Our distributor in Guwahati owes us but keeps ordering. Should we stop supply?

Not before reconciling: balances often include unpaid claims, schemes and returns. Once the statement is agreed, a dated plan runs alongside fresh supply.

Can you get an Assam department to pay a pending bill?

We cannot release funds. We make the bill complete, certified and listed, and follow each stage. We do not influence decisions.

Is the MSE Facilitation Council route worth using in Assam?

For registered micro and small suppliers with clear acceptance dates, yes. Prepare a reconciled claim first: buyers often answer with a deduction dispute.

Sources

This page summarises the position as at 9 November 2026. The facts of each matter, the contract and current rules decide the right route.