Paytm has approached the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) against WinZO, seeking the initiation of insolvency proceedings over an alleged outstanding amount of approximately Rs 3.6 crore, which relates to advertising services rendered through its platform.
According to media reports, A bench consisting of Judicial Member Justice Jyotsna Sharma and Technical Member Anu Jagmohan Singh heard the matter on 11 November 2025. The tribunal issued a notice to WinZO, giving it two weeks to submit its response. The next hearing is scheduled for 15 December 2025.
Senior Advocate Krishnendu Datta, representing Paytm, stated that the debt arose from four invoices issued pursuant to purchase orders from WinZO. These orders involved promoting WinZO’s gaming offerings—including poker and rummy—via Paytm’s application. The invoices had a 60‑day payment term and were emailed to WinZO. A formal demand notice dated 1 October 2025 was also sent, but the amount remained unpaid.
WinZO did not dispute that the services had been delivered but argued that the invoices “had not been validated” and withheld payment pending an internal review. Paytm rejected this defence, calling it “sham.”
“There is no communication or email where they say advertisements were not placed,” Datta argued.
Datta further submitted that WinZO had previously cleared similar invoices without objection and that the payment default only started after the online real‑money gaming ban was implemented, suggesting the ban had affected WinZO’s ability to pay its dues.
At the end of the hearing, the NCLT issued notice to WinZO to file its counterstatement and adjourned the matter to 15 December for further proceedings.
