Lilliput, India’s largest kids wear retailer, failed to pay the first instalment of the $5 million the company owes to 22 Bangladeshi apparel exporters by the latest deadline of July 25, exporters told New Age on Saturday.
They said the company had committed to the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association to pay 25 per cent of the total payment by July 25, another 15 per cent by August 10 and rest of the debt by January 2013.
Exporters were supposed to get their payment in October–November 2011 but Lilliput delayed the payment and made a commitment to pay it by June 30. But, the company had failed to pay by the deadline.
‘The company is procrastinating the payment after being failed to give the payment by the deadline,’ said Fazlur Rahman, managing director of Gemini Garments Ltd, one of the 22 exporters.
The company had repeatedly taken time and finally on Friday said that it would pay first instalment within two or three days, BGMEA officials said.
A delegation of the BGMEA went India to settle the issue in mid-June wherein Lilliput, in a written commitment, said they would make full payment by January with first instalment in July.
The exporters said that they would take legal action including filing a case with court in India against Lilliput seeking justice and demanding payment if any amicable solution could not be reached through negotiations.
‘We would become defaulters on bank loans and our businesses may face closure because of non-payment by the Indian company,’ said Moin Uddin Ahmed, managing director of Kent Fashion, one of the 22 exporters.
Fazlur Rahman said, ‘Banks are showing unwillingness to do business with us and they have stopped giving us banking facilities as we have failed to repay loans.’
The other exporters are Mazkan Jeans, Vertex Apparels, Barat Sweater, A Plus Sweater, Sinha Fabrics, Anupam Fashions, Panshi Knit, Annesha Style, Hypoid Lingeries, Defoin Design, New Generation Fashion, Uttara Woven and Knit, DNS Sweaters, Ayesha Enterprise, IP Jack Knitting, T-Mart Computerised Sweater, Hallmark Designwear, Apparel Concept, Alif Garments and ND Apparels.