1 Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises Development (MSMED) Act, 2006
The Government of India has enacted the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (MSMED) Act, 2006 on June 16, 2006 which was notified on October 2, 2006. With the enactment of MSMED Act 2006, the paradigm shift that has taken place is the inclusion of the services sector in the definition of Micro, Small & Medium enterprises, apart from extending the scope to medium enterprises. The MSMED Act, 2006 has modified the definition of micro, small and medium enterprises engaged in manufacturing or production and providing or rendering of services. The Reserve Bank has notified the changes to all scheduled commercial banks. Further, the definition, as per the Act, has been adopted for purposes of bank credit vide RBI circular ref. RPCD.PLNFS. BC.No.63/06.02.31/ 2006-07 dated April 4, 2007.
1.1 Definition of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises
(a) Manufacturing Enterprises i.e. Enterprises engaged in the manufacture or production, processing or preservation of goods as specified below:
(i) A micro enterprise is an enterprise where investment in plant and machinery does not exceed Rs. 25 lakh;
(ii) A small enterprise is an enterprise where the investment in plant and machinery is more than Rs. 25 lakh but does not exceed Rs. 5 crore; and
(iii) A medium enterprise is an enterprise where the investment in plant and machinery is more than Rs.5 crore but does not exceed Rs.10 crore.
In case of the above enterprises, investment in plant and machinery is the original cost excluding land and building and the items specified by the Ministry of Small Scale Industries vide its notification No.S.O. 1722(E) dated October 5, 2006 (Annex I).
(b) Service Enterprises i.e. Enterprises engaged in providing or rendering of services and whose investment in equipment (original cost excluding land and building and furniture, fittings and other items not directly related to the service rendered or as may be notified under the MSMED Act, 2006) as specified below:
(i) A micro enterprise is an enterprise where the investment in equipment does not exceed Rs. 10 lakh;
(ii) A small enterprise is an enterprise where the investment in equipment is more than Rs.10 lakh but does not exceed Rs. 2 crore; and
(iii) A medium enterprise is an enterprise where the investment in equipment is more than Rs. 2 crore but does not exceed Rs. 5 crore.
Section – II
2 Priority Sector Guidelines for MSME sector
In terms of circular FIDD.CO.Plan.BC.54/04.09.01/2014-15 dated April 23, 2015 on ‘Priority Sector Lending - Targets and Classification’, bank loans to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, for both Manufacturing and Service sectors are eligible to be classified under the Priority Sector as per the following norms:
2.1 Manufacturing Enterprises
The Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises engaged in the manufacture or production of goods to any industry specified in the first schedule to the Industries (Development and Regulation) Act, 1951 and as notified by the Government from time to time. The Manufacturing Enterprises are defined in terms of investment in plant and machinery.
2.2 Service Enterprises
Bank loans up to Rs.5 crore per borrower / unit to Micro and Small Enterprises and Rs.10 crore to Medium Enterprises engaged in providing or rendering of services and defined in terms of investment in equipment under MSMED Act, 2006.
2.3 Khadi and Village Industries Sector (KVI)
All loans to units in the KVI sector will be eligible for classification under the sub-target of 7 percent / 7.5 percent prescribed for Micro Enterprises under priority sector.
2.4 Bank loans to food and agro processing units will form part of agriculture.
2.5 Other Finance to MSMEs
(i) Loans to entities involved in assisting the decentralized sector in the supply of inputs to and marketing of outputs of artisans, village and cottage industries.
(ii) Loans to co-operatives of producers in the decentralized sector viz. artisans, village and cottage industries.
(iii) Loans sanctioned by banks to MFIs for on-lending to MSME sector as per the conditions specified in the extant Master Circular on ‘Priority Sector Lending - Targets and Classification’.
(iv) Credit outstanding under General Credit Cards (including Artisan Credit Card, Laghu Udyami Card, Swarojgar Credit Card, and Weaver’s Card etc. in existence and catering to the non-farm entrepreneurial credit needs of individuals).
(v) Outstanding deposits with SIDBI on account of priority sector shortfall.
2.6 To ensure that MSMEs do not remain small and medium units merely to remain eligible for priority sector status, the MSME units will continue to enjoy the priority sector lending status up to three years after they grow out of the MSME category concerned.
2.7 Considering that the MSMED Act, 2006 does not provide for any sub-categorization within the definition of micro enterprises and that the sub-target for lending to micro enterprises has been fixed, the current sub-categorization within the definition of micro enterprises in the existing guidelines is dispensed with.
2.8 Since the MSMED Act, 2006 does not provide for clubbing of investments of different enterprises set up by same person / company for the purpose of classification as Micro, Small and Medium enterprises, the Gazette Notification No. S.O.2 (E) dated January 1, 1993 on clubbing of investments of two or more enterprises under the same ownership for the purpose of classification of industrial undertakings as SSI has been rescinded vide GOI Notification No. S.O. 563 (E) dated February 27, 2009.
SECTION - III
3 Targets / sub-targets for lending to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector by Domestic Commercial Banks and Foreign Banks operating in India
3.1 Advances to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector shall be reckoned in computing achievement under the overall Priority Sector target of 40 percent of Adjusted Net Bank Credit (ANBC) or credit equivalent amount of Off-Balance Sheet Exposure, whichever is higher, as per the extant guidelines on priority sector lending.
3.2 Domestic Commercial Banks are required to achieve a sub-target of 7.5 percent of ANBC or Credit Equivalent Amount of Off-Balance Sheet Exposure, whichever is higher, for lending to Micro Enterprises in a phased manner i.e. 7 per cent by March 2016 and 7.5 per cent by March 2017. The sub-target for Micro Enterprises for foreign banks with 20 branches operating in India and above would be made applicable post 2018 after a review in 2017. However, this sub-target for lending to Micro Enterprises is not applicable to foreign banks with less than 20 branches operating in India.
3.3 Bank loans above Rs.5 crore per borrower / unit to Micro and Small Enterprises and Rs.10 crore to Medium Enterprises engaged in providing or rendering of services and defined in terms of investment in equipment under MSMED Act, 2006, shall not be reckoned in computing achievement under the overall Priority Sector targets as above. However, bank loans above Rs.5 crore per borrower / unit to Micro and Small Enterprises would be taken into account while assessing the performance of the banks with regard to their achievement of targets prescribed by the Prime Minister’s Task Force on MSMEs for lending to MSE sector.
3.4 In terms of the recommendations of the Prime Minister’s Task Force on MSMEs, banks are advised to achieve:
(i) 20 per cent year-on-year growth in credit to micro and small enterprises,
(ii) 10 per cent annual growth in the number of micro enterprise accounts and
(ii) 60% of total lending to MSE sector as on preceding March 31st to Micro enterprises
SECTION - IV
4 Common guidelines / instructions for lending to MSME sector
4.1 Issue of Acknowledgement of Loan Applications to MSME borrowers
Banks have been advised to mandatorily acknowledge all loan applications, submitted manually or online, by their MSME borrowers and ensure that a running serial number is recorded on the application form as well as on the acknowledgement receipt. Banks are further encouraged to start Central Registration of loan applications. The same technology may be used for online submission of loan applications as also for online tracking of loan applications.
4.2 Collateral
Banks are mandated not to accept collateral security in the case of loans up to Rs.10 lakh extended to units in the MSE sector. Banks are also advised to extend collateral-free loans up to Rs. 10 lakh to all units financed under the Prime Minister Employment Generation Programme (PMEGP) administered by KVIC.
Banks may, on the basis of good track record and financial position of the MSE units, increase the limit to dispense with the collateral requirement for loans up to Rs.25 lakh (with the approval of the appropriate authority).
Banks are advised to strongly encourage their branch level functionaries to avail of the Credit Guarantee Scheme cover, including making performance in this regard a criterion in the evaluation of their field staff.
4.3 Composite loan
A composite loan limit of Rs.1 crore can be sanctioned by banks to enable the MSE entrepreneurs to avail of their working capital and term loan requirement through Single Window.
4.4 Specialised MSME branches
Public sector banks have been advised to open at least one specialised branch in each district. Further, banks have been permitted to categorise their general banking branches having 60% or more of their advances to MSME sector as specialized MSME branches in order to encourage them to open more specialised MSME branches for providing better service to this sector as a whole. As per the policy package announced by the Government of India for stepping up credit to MSME sector, the public sector banks will ensure specialized MSME branches in identified clusters/centres with preponderance of small enterprises to enable the entrepreneurs to have easy access to the bank credit and to equip bank personnel to develop requisite expertise. The existing specialised SSI branches, if any, may also be redesignated as MSME branches. Though their core competence will be utilized for extending finance and other services to MSME sector, they will have operational flexibility to extend finance/render other services to other sectors/borrowers.
4.5 Delayed Payment
Under the Amendment Act, 1998 of Interest on Delayed Payment to Small Scale and Ancillary Industrial Undertakings, penal provisions have been incorporated to take care of delayed payments to MSME units. After the enactment of the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (MSMED), Act 2006, the existing provisions of the Interest on Delayed Payment Act, 1998 to Small Scale and Ancillary Industrial Undertakings, have been strengthened as under:
(i) The buyer has to make payment to the supplier on or before the date agreed upon between him and the supplier in writing or, in case of no agreement, before the appointed day. The period agreed upon between the supplier and the buyer shall not exceed forty five days from the date of acceptance or the day of deemed acceptance.
(ii) In case the buyer fails to make payment of the amount to the supplier, he shall be liable to pay compound interest with monthly rests to the supplier on the amount from the appointed day or, on the date agreed on, at three times of the Bank Rate notified by Reserve Bank.
(iii) For any goods supplied or services rendered by the supplier, the buyer shall be liable to pay the interest as advised at (ii) above.
(iv) In case of dispute with regard to any amount due, a reference shall be made to the Micro and Small Enterprises Facilitation Council, constituted by the respective State Government.
Further, banks have been advised to fix sub-limits within the overall working capital limits to the large borrowers specifically for meeting the payment obligation in respect of purchases from MSMEs.
4.6 Revised Guidelines for Rehabilitation of Sick Micro and Small Enterprises
In view of the recommendations of Working Group on rehabilitation of potentially viable sick units (Chairman: Dr. K. C. Chakrabarty), regarding changing the definition of sickness and the procedure for assessing the viability of sick MSE units, a Committee was set up by the Ministry of MSME to look into the issue. Based on the recommendation of the Committee, revised guidelines for rehabilitation of sick units in the MSE sector have been issued vide our circular RPCD.CO.MSME & NFS.BC.40/06.02.31/2012-2013 dated November 1, 2012.
The objective of the revised guidelines is to hasten the process of identification of a unit as sick, early detection of incipient sickness, and to lay down a procedure to be adopted by banks before declaring a unit as unviable.
As per the new guidelines, a Micro or Small Enterprise (as defined in the MSMED Act 2006) may be said to have become Sick, if (a) any of the borrowal account of the enterprise remains NPA for three months or more OR (b) there is erosion in the net worth due to accumulated losses to the extent of 50% of its net worth during the previous accounting year.
The revised guidelines also provide the procedures to be adopted by the banks before declaring any unit as unviable. Banks have been advised that the decision on viability of the unit should be taken at the earliest but not later than 3 months of becoming sick under any circumstances and the rehabilitation package should be fully implemented within six months from the date the unit is declared as 'potentially viable' / 'viable'.
4.7 Micro and Small Enterprises Sector – The imperative of Financial Literacy and consultancy support
Keeping in view the high extent of financial exclusion in the MSME sector, it is imperative for banks that the excluded units are brought within the fold of the formal banking sector. The lack of financial literacy, operational skills, including accounting and finance, business planning etc. represent formidable challenge for MSE borrowers underscoring the need for facilitation by banks in these critical financial areas. Moreover, MSE enterprises are further handicapped in this regard by absence of scale and size. To effectively and decisively address these handicaps, Scheduled commercial banks have been advised vide our circular RPCD.MSME & NFS.BC.No.20/06.02.31/2012-13 dated August 1, 2012 that the banks could either separately set up special cells at their branches, or vertically integrate this function in the Financial Literacy Centres (FLCs) set up by them, as per their comparative advantage. The bank staff should also be trained through customised training programs to meet the specific needs of the sector.
4.8 Structured Mechanism for monitoring the credit growth to the MSE sector
In view of the concerns emerging from the deceleration in credit growth to the MSE sector, an Indian Banking Association (IBA)-led Sub-Committee (Chairman: Shri K.R. Kamath) was set up to suggest a structured mechanism to be put in place by banks to monitor the entire gamut of credit related issues pertaining to the sector. Based on the recommendations of the Committee, banks have been advised to:
strengthen their existing systems of monitoring credit growth to the sector and put in place a system-driven comprehensive performance management information system (MIS) at every supervisory level (branch, region, zone, head office) which should be critically evaluated on a regular basis;
put in place a system of e-tracking of MSE loan applications and monitor the loan application disposal process in banks, giving branch-wise, region-wise, zone-wise and State-wise positions. The position in this regard is to be displayed by banks on their websites; and
monitor timely rehabilitation of sick MSE units. The progress in rehabilitation of sick MSE units is to be made available on the website of banks.
Detailed guidelines have been issued to the scheduled commercial banks vide our circular RPCD. MSME&NFS.BC.No. 74/06.02.31/2012-13 dated May 9, 2013.
4.9 Revised General Credit Card (GCC) Scheme
In order to enhance the coverage of GCC Scheme to ensure greater credit linkage for all productive activities within the overall Priority Sector guidelines and to capture all credit extended by banks to individuals for non-farm entrepreneurial activity, the GCC guidelines have been revised on December 2, 2013.
4.10 State Level Inter Institutional Committee (SLIIC)
In order to deal with the problems of co-ordination for rehabilitation of sick micro and small units, State Level Inter-Institutional Committees were set up in the States. However, the matter of continuation or otherwise, of the SLIIC Forum has been left to the individual States / Union Territory. The meetings of these Committees are convened by Regional Offices of RBI and presided over by the Secretary, Industry of the concerned State Government. It provides a useful forum for adequate interfacing between the State Government Officials and State Level Institutions on the one side and the term lending institutions and banks on the other. It closely monitors timely sanction of working capital to units which have been provided term loans by SFCs, implementation of special schemes such as Margin Money Scheme of State Government and reviews general problems faced by industries and sickness in MSE sector based on the data furnished by banks. Among others, the representatives of the local state level MSE associations are invited to the meetings of SLIIC which are held quarterly. A sub-committee of SLIIC looks into the problems of individual sick MSE unit and submits its recommendations to the forum of SLIIC for consideration.
4.11 Empowered Committee on MSMEs
As part of the announcement made by the Union Finance Minister, at the Regional Offices of Reserve Bank of India, Empowered Committees on MSMEs have been constituted under the Chairmanship of the Regional Directors with the representatives of SLBC Convenor, senior level officers from two banks having predominant share in MSME financing in the state, representative of SIDBI Regional Office, the Director of Industries of the State Government, one or two senior level representatives from the MSME Associations in the state, and a senior level officer from SFC/SIDC as members. The Committee will meet periodically and review the progress in MSME financing as also rehabilitation of sick Micro, Small and Medium units. It will also coordinate with other banks/financial institutions and the state government in removing bottlenecks, if any, to ensure smooth flow of credit to the sector. The committees may decide the need to have similar committees at cluster/district levels.
4.12 Debt Restructuring Mechanism for MSMEs
(i) Prudential Guidelines on SME Debt Restructuring by banks have been advised to all commercial banks by Department of Banking Operations & Development vide circular DBOD.No.BP.BC.No. 37/21.04.132/2008-09 dated August 27, 2008 read with circular DBOD.BP.BC.No.99/21.04.132/2012-13 dated May 30, 2013 and DBOD Mail Box clarification dated June 6, 2013 and March 30, 2015 and the subsequent guidelines on Restructuring of Advances by banks issued from time to time.
(ii) In the light of the recommendations of the Working Group on Rehabilitation of Sick MSEs (Chairman: Dr. K.C. Chakrabarty), all commercial banks were advised vide our circular ref. RPCD. SME &NFS.BC.No. 102/06.04.01/2008-09 dated May 4, 2009 to:
(a) put in place loan policies governing extension of credit facilities, Restructuring/Rehabilitation policy for revival of potentially viable sick units/enterprises and non- discretionary One Time Settlement scheme for recovery of non-performing loans for the MSE sector, with the approval of the Board of Directors and
(b) implement recommendations with regard to timely and adequate flow of credit to the MSE sector.
(iii) Banks have been advised to give wide publicity to the One Time settlement scheme implemented by them, by placing it on the bank’s website and through other possible modes of dissemination. They may allow reasonable time to the borrowers to submit the application and also make payment of the dues in order to extend the benefits of the scheme to eligible borrowers.
4.13 Cluster Approach
All SLBC Convenor banks have been advised to incorporate in their Annual Credit Plans, the credit requirement in the clusters identified by the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, Government of India.
(i) As per Ganguly Committee recommendations (September 4, 2004), banks have been advised that a full-service approach to cater to the diverse needs of the SSI sector (now MSE sector) may be achieved through extending banking services to recognized MSE clusters by adopting a 4-C approach namely, Customer focus, Cost control, Cross sell and Contain risk. A cluster based approach to lending may be more beneficial:
(a) in dealing with well-defined and recognized groups;
(b) availability of appropriate information for risk assessment and
(c) monitoring by the lending institutions.
Clusters may be identified based on factors such as trade record, competitiveness and growth prospects and/or other cluster specific data.
(ii) As per announcement made by the Governor in paragraph 157 of the Annual Policy Statement 2007-08, all SLBC Convenor banks have been advised vide letter RPCD.PLNFS.No. 10416/06.02.31/2006-07 dated May 8, 2007 to review their institutional arrangements for delivering credit to the MSME sector, especially in 388 clusters identified by United Nations Industrial Development Organisation (UNIDO) spread over 21 states in various parts of the country. A list of SME clusters as identified by UNIDO has been furnished in Annex II.
(iii) The Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises has approved a list of clusters under the Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries (SFURTI) and Micro and Small Enterprises Cluster Development Programme (MSE-CDP) located in 121 Minority Concentration Districts. Accordingly, appropriate measures have been taken to improve the credit flow to the identified clusters of micro and small entrepreneurs from the Minority Communities residing in the minority concentrated districts of the country.
(iv) In terms of recommendations of the Prime Minister’s Task Force on MSMEs banks should open more MSE focused branch offices at different MSE clusters which can also act as CounsellingCentres for MSEs. Each lead bank of a district may adopt at least one MSE cluster.