The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT)-Mumbai on Tuesday issued a notice to real estate giant Shapoorji Pallonji & Co. Pvt. Ltd (SPCPL), seeking its response to an insolvency plea over an alleged default of ₹2.72 crore.
Chennai-based Intertouch Metal Buildings Pvt. Ltd, a roofing and cladding firm, has pleaded that it hasn’t received payments for its work since October 2022. The firm requested the NCLT to initiate insolvency proceedings against Shapoorji Pallonji and appoint an interim resolution professional.
According to the company’s chartered accountant, who appeared before the NCLT, Intertouch Metal Buildings was engaged in the construction and erection of metal buildings at the newly developed Port Blair airport in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The airport construction tender was awarded to the Shapoorji Pallonji Group.
“The airport construction is complete and fully operational. However, payments of ₹2.72 crore remain outstanding from a total project value of ₹15 crore,” the chartered accountant informed the tribunal.
The roofing firm said it had repeatedly reached out to the Shapoorji Pallonji Group via emails regarding the pending payments. “Even after serving a demand notice, we only received a small ratification request, which we duly complied with. Despite this, the payment has not been cleared,” the representative added.
Upon hearing the matter, the NCLT issued a notice to SPCPL, directing the company to file a reply within seven days. The next hearing is scheduled for 24 April.
This is not the first insolvency claim against the Shapoorji Pallonji Group. In October 2024, the Mumbai NCLT dismissed an insolvency plea filed by KBC Infrastructure against SPCPL. The tribunal ruled that insolvency proceedings cannot be misused as a debt recovery tool, particularly in cases where the debt amount is disputed or does not meet the required threshold.
Shapoorji Pallonji Engineering & Construction (E&C) was the general contractor for the shell-shaped terminal building at Port Blair’s Veer Savarkar International Airport. The new terminal, spanning 40,837 square metres, was constructed at a cost of ₹710 crore and is designed to handle around 5 million passengers annually.
