FIRs pile up against Snapdeal's logistics arm GoJavas over unpaid dues

The cash crunch plaguing Indian startups is fast turning into a never-ending nightmare.

Six months after an ownership churn at Snapdeal’s in-house logistics firm GoJavas, the company could be facing a slew of legal suits.

Leading cargo vendors are alleging that GoJavas has failed to pay dues ranging from Rs 50 lakh to more than Rs 2 crore over the past six months.

In January, Monopoly Carriers & Cargo – an intercity cargo firm in Nagpur – filed an FIR against GoJavas over unpaid dues of Rs 76 lakh. The FIR has also named Snapdeal founders Kunal Bahl and Rohit Bansal.

Two other vendors, Mituj Marketing and Number 1 World Wide Express, have sent legal notices to the firm for non-payment of dues of Rs 1.8 crore and Rs 2 crore respectively.

Amit Bajaj, a former air cargo service provider for GoJavas who runs Mituj Marketing, said he had failed to recover his dues despite repeated attempts.

Responding to a CNBC-TV18 questionnaire, a GoJavas spokesperson termed the allegations as baseless and completely false.  The company further claimed that Rs 22 crore was paid to two of the vendors mentioned above, including Bajaj's firm.

Some vendors told CNBC-TV18 that GoJavas had been regular with its payments until a couple of months after the management overhaul.

ALSO READ: How a courier boy acquired 51% stake in a firm worth Rs 600 crore

Last year, Pigeon Express – a little-known courier company promoted by Anand Rai - bought a 51 percent stake in GoJavas. It was deal that raised eyebrows as Rai’s company, which had a turnover of less than Rs 15 crore, had bought a majority stake in a company that had 40 times its turnover.

Refusing to reveal how much he paid for his stake in GoJavas, Rai told Moneycontrol: "My takeover saved GoJavas. It was a failing ship suffering huge losses. It would have died if I had not come into the picture.”

Meanwhile, Jasper Infotech, which runs Snapdeal and has a 40 percent stake in GoJavas, has washed its hands off the issue.

“Jasper Infotech's relationship with Gojavas is and has been that of a pure financial investor with no operational control in the company,” said a spokesperson. “All operational matters, including matters related to payments, are dealt with by the management of Gojavas and we have no involvement in this regard.”

There is speculation that Snapdeal may now opt for a complete exit from GoJavas, which employs 600 people, as it has created its own cargo firm, Vulcan Express. Barely a year ago, there were rumours that it may go for a complete takeover of GoJavas.