SRIT contests Rs 259.6 crore MSME software payment claim

SRI India Limited, referred to as SRIT, is contesting an approximately Rs 259.6 crore claim brought by GeoVista Technologies Private Limited under the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006. The March 25, 2021 claim includes goods and services tax and applicable interest, while SRIT says the software did not satisfy contractual and functional requirements and the end customer rejected it.

What is the Rs 259.6 crore MSME software payment claim against SRIT?

The claim seeks payment for an invoice raised for Project Management Software, including goods and services tax, or GST, and applicable interest. GeoVista Technologies Private Limited filed the matter before the Telangana State Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation Council on March 25, 2021 under the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006, or MSMED Act. The disclosed Rs 259.6 crore amount is approximate because it incorporates GST and interest.

SRIT is the respondent in the proceeding and reports the matter among claims not acknowledged as debts as at March 31, 2026. That classification states SRIT's position that it does not accept the claimed amount as a debt; it does not determine the outcome of the case. The financial-information note does not disclose an award, settlement, hearing date, provision or final amount payable for the GeoVista matter.

The disclosed GeoVista claim is materially larger than other quantified individual disputes described in the same litigation note. Galmax Technologies Pvt. Ltd. has sought approximately Rs 2.516 crore, plus interest and damages, in arbitration connected with the CG e-District 2.0 Project. SCSA Consultants Pvt. Ltd. claimed Rs 1.71 crore, including 18% GST, plus Rs 26 lakh interest on the GST component in conciliation proceedings that were referred to arbitration.

The claim also exceeds SRIT's reported restated profit before tax of Rs 54.95 crore for the year ended March 31, 2026 and profit after tax of Rs 43.302 crore for that year. Those profit figures do not establish a liability for the claim, but they provide a disclosed financial comparison with the amount under dispute. SRIT reported profit after tax of Rs 33.652 crore in the year ended March 31, 2025.

Why does SRIT reject the MSME software payment claim?

SRIT says it rejects the claim because the Project Management Software did not meet the contractual and functional requirements and was rejected by the end customer. SRIT further states that an alternate solution was approved and implemented. Whether those assertions are accepted by the Telangana State Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation Council will be central to the invoice-payment dispute.

SRIT says it has filed a detailed defence, supported by documents, before the appropriate authority. The disclosure does not identify the end customer, disclose the contract value, specify the software-delivery date or state when the alternate solution was approved. As a result, the published financial information presents SRIT's defence but does not contain an adjudicated finding that the software failed.

Customer acceptance is also an express issue in two separate disclosed disputes. In the Galmax arbitration, SRIT says invoices were raised belatedly and contractual conditions, including client acceptance and back-to-back payment terms, were not fulfilled. In the SCSA matter, SRIT says no milestones, deliverables or go-live certificates were accepted by MePDCL, and joint audits indicated that required development or production environments and mandatory progress reports had not been provided.

The GeoVista dispute therefore depends on contractual performance, functional compliance and the effect of the end customer's rejection as stated by SRIT. The source does not disclose GeoVista's detailed response to SRIT's assertions beyond its allegation of non-payment for the invoice. It also does not disclose whether the software claim is tied to a performance guarantee, although SRIT reported several separate bank-guarantee and surety-bond obligations at March 31, 2026.

What stage has the GeoVista proceeding reached?

The GeoVista proceeding remains pending adjudication, according to SRIT's March 31, 2026 contingent-liability disclosure. SRIT's management believes the outcome will be favourable, but that is a management assessment rather than an order of the Telangana State Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation Council. No decision timetable or next procedural date is disclosed.

The GeoVista position is earlier or less specifically described than the status provided for the SCSA matter. In the SCSA dispute, the MSMED Facilitation Council referred the case to arbitration after hearing both parties, and SRIT says the final amount under arbitration has yet to be determined. SCSA's claim was raised on September 1, 2021 and concerned alleged milestone completion in a back-to-back project.

The Galmax case has progressed to arbitration before a sole arbitrator appointed by the High Court of Chhattisgarh. That arbitration arises from a subcontract agreement dated August 21, 2021 relating to the CG e-District 2.0 Project. SRIT says it has a strong contractual defence in that matter based on legal advice and management assessment, while proceedings continue.

A pending adjudication can change SRIT's reported treatment if an award, settlement or other outcome establishes an obligation. For now, SRIT has disclosed the GeoVista amount within legal, contractual, arbitration, writ-petition and MSME facilitation proceedings arising in the ordinary course of business. The note does not state that the Rs 259.6 crore claim has been recognised as an expense or payable in the March 31, 2026 financial information.

What other contingent obligations did SRIT report at March 31, 2026?

SRIT reported Rs 30.147 crore of bank guarantees furnished to customers as at March 31, 2026, compared with Rs 23.505 crore at March 31, 2025. Bank guarantees are commitments by banks to customers that may be called if contractual conditions are met. These guarantees are distinct from the GeoVista invoice claim and do not themselves establish that a payment demand has been made.

State Bank of India and Bank of Maharashtra had combined bank-guarantee utilisation of Rs 7.062 crore at March 31, 2026, against sanctioned limits of Rs 35 crore and Rs 70.2 lakh, respectively. Punjab & Sind Bank and Commercial Bank of Qatar guarantees had combined utilisation of Rs 18.163 crore and were fully backed by fixed deposits. HDFC Bank had utilised Rs 4.922 crore of its Rs 5 crore sanctioned bank-guarantee facility.

SRIT also disclosed a supplier liability under dispute with a civil court of Rs 21.484 crore at March 31, 2026, up from Rs 4.312 crore at March 31, 2025. The note separately reports Rs 2.492 crore of service-tax matters, excluding interest and penalty, unchanged across March 31, 2024, March 31, 2025 and March 31, 2026. These categories are separately identified claims not acknowledged as debts.

Several GST matters had developments after the March 31, 2026 reporting date. SRIT says certain GST demands relating to financial years 2017-18 to 2021-22 were dropped on November 18, 2025, while a Rs 86 lakh demand for the December 2019 to March 2023 audit period was dropped on November 7, 2025. Appeals filed on August 21, 2025 against separate orders confirming Rs 23.3 lakh and Rs 53.7 lakh of tax demands were awaiting a personal hearing and appellate order.

Conclusion

SRIT's approximately Rs 259.6 crore GeoVista dispute is a pending MSMED Act claim, not an admitted debt or disclosed award. SRIT's defence rests on its stated position that the Project Management Software failed contractual and functional requirements, was rejected by the end customer, and was replaced by an approved alternate solution.

The next item to watch is an adjudicatory update from the Telangana State Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation Council, because SRIT has disclosed neither a decision date nor a provision for the GeoVista claim. Later awards, settlements or procedural updates in the SCSA arbitration, Galmax arbitration and GST appeals could also change SRIT's contingent-liability disclosures after March 31, 2026.