COVID-19 hit MSMEs can tap new relief window from January 1 Premium

Relief for MSMEs embroiled in disputes with govt. agencies due to COVID-19: Centre revives Vivad Se Vishwas I scheme till March 31.

The new year could ring in some relief for India’s Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) embroiled in disputes with central government agencies due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with the Centre reviving a scheme to settle their claims in such cases. 

Starting January 1, 2024, MSMEs can submit fresh claims under the Vivad Se Vishwas I scheme, which had originally admitted claims between mid-April to end of July this year. The new window for firms to file claims under the scheme, which had settled ₹650 crore in almost 44,000 cases by the beginning of December, will now be kept open till March 31.  

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“It has been brought to the notice of this Department that eligible MSMEs could not lodge their claims on the portals because of lack of information about the scheme,” the Department of Expenditure in the Finance Ministry said in an office memo dated December 22. “In view of above, it has been decided that eligible claims under the subject scheme can now also be submitted from 1.1.2024 to 31.03.2024,” the memo added. 

Announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in the Union Budget 2023-24, the Vivad Se Vishwas (VSVS) I scheme was aimed at providing relief to MSMEs unable to comply with central government contracts due to the pandemic. Launched on April 11, it covered all procurement contracts related to goods, services and works entered into by government departments. 

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