Articles 14–18 of the Schedule to the Limitation Act, 1963: suits for the price of goods sold, standing crops and work done

Articles 14 explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.

If a customer has not paid for goods you supplied or work you did, the Limitation Act, 1963 gives you a fixed time to file a suit. Articles 14 to 18 of the Schedule cover five common situations, and each one gives three years. What differs is the date from which the three years are counted.

This article reads those five Articles as printed in the consolidated text of the Act consulted (latest amendment shown: Act 46 of 1999). Later amendments should be checked before you rely on any period.

Articles 14 to 18 deal with the price of goods sold and delivered, the price of trees or growing crops, and the price of work done. In every one the period is three years. The starting point is the delivery date, the end of the credit period, the end of the proposed bill period, the date of sale, or the date the work is done, depending on the Article. A suit filed after the period is liable to be dismissed under section 3, even if the buyer never raised limitation.

Where these Articles sit in the Schedule

The Schedule has three Divisions. Articles 14 to 18 are in the First Division (suits), Part II (suits relating to contracts). If your claim is a simple unpaid-invoice claim for goods or work, start here. Our guide to the Schedule and how to read its periods explains the three columns, and a legal notice to the defaulting buyer is the usual first step before a suit is filed.

The Schedule is a three-column table: the description of the suit, the period of limitation, and the time from which the period begins to run. The text below is copied from the print.

How to count: the worked examples

Section 12(1) says that in computing the period of limitation for any suit, the day from which the period is reckoned is excluded. So the first day is not counted, and three years from a given date end on the same calendar date three years later.

Article 14: no credit period was agreed. Rao Traders delivers steel fittings to Mehta Fabricators on 10 June 2023, with no agreed credit period. The three years run from the delivery date, so they end on 10 June 2026. The invoice date does not matter here, and neither does a reminder you sent later. The Article names the date of delivery. If the goods were delivered in lots, check which delivery your suit is about.

Article 15: goods sold on fixed credit. Suppose goods are delivered on 1 March 2023 on 90 days' credit. The credit period expires on 30 May 2023, and that date is the starting point. Three years from there end on 30 May 2026. Note that this Article counts from the expiry of the credit, not from delivery.

Article 16: payment was to be by a bill of exchange, but no bill was given. This covers a sale where the parties meant the price to be settled by a bill (for example, a bill payable 60 days after a stated date) but the buyer never accepted or issued one. Suppose the proposed bill was to be payable 60 days after 5 January 2024. That period elapses on 5 March 2024, and three years from then end on 5 March 2027. For the instruments themselves, see our post on the bill of exchange under the Negotiable Instruments Act. If a bill was actually given and dishonoured, the suit may fall under a different Article (see the Articles on bills and notes, 31 to 41).

Article 17: trees or growing crops. This is a narrow Article: the plaintiff sold trees or growing crops, and no fixed credit period was agreed. A grower sells a standing crop on 20 September 2023. The three years end on 20 September 2026, counted from "the date of the sale", not from the harvest or the removal of the crop.

Article 18: work done on request. A designer completes a branding job on 15 November 2023 at the client's request, with no payment date fixed. The period starts "when the work is done", so it ends on 15 November 2026. If the work was done in stages, the Article does not say whether each stage has its own date; the text is silent, so read your contract and take advice before relying on a later stage.

What can change the count

The periods above are the starting position. Other sections of the Act can change them, and each has its own article on this site:

• Section 4: if the last day falls on a day the court is closed, the suit may be filed on the day the court re-opens. See sections 3 and 4.
• Sections 18 and 19: a signed written acknowledgment of liability, or a payment on account of a debt made, before the period expires, by the person liable or his duly authorised agent and acknowledged as section 19 requires, gives a fresh period of limitation. Read section 18 and section 19 before you assume a reminder email or a casual promise restarts the clock.
• Section 14: time spent bona fide in a court without jurisdiction can be excluded. See section 14.
• Section 5 does not help a suit. Section 5 lets an appeal or application be admitted after the period if there was sufficient cause. It does not apply to suits, so a late suit cannot rely on it.

When the Schedule does not decide the period

Under section 29(2), where a special or local law prescribes a different period for a suit, appeal or application, that law's period applies. Claims for delayed payment to a micro or small enterprise, cheque-dishonour complaints and insolvency proceedings each have their own rules; see our posts on recovery of amounts due under the MSMED Act and time limits under the cheque dishonour provision. This article states no period under any other law.

Practical checklist before the three years run out

1. Fix the exact delivery, credit-expiry, sale or completion date from your challan, invoice, lorry receipt, contract or work-completion record.
2. Check whether any signed acknowledgment or acknowledged payment on account falls inside the three years.
3. Diarise the last day and the day before it, and note whether the court is closed on that day.
4. Send a demand notice early, but do not treat a notice as stopping the clock; the text of these Articles does not say that a notice does.
5. Keep the original documents; a suit for the price of goods or work is proved by delivery proof, orders, and accounts.

Need help with an unpaid invoice or a pending dues claim?

If you are not sure which date starts the period on your invoice, or whether a signed acknowledgment saves an old debt, talk to us before the date passes. Our team prepares recovery notices for unpaid goods and work with the dates and documents laid out, so the next step is clear.

Key takeaways

• Articles 14 to 18 each give three years for suits on the price of goods, standing crops or work.
• The starting point differs: delivery (14), end of credit (15), end of the proposed bill period (16), date of sale (17), completion of work (18).
• The day from which the period is counted is excluded under section 12(1).
• Section 5 does not extend the time to file a suit.
• A special or local law may fix a different period; this Schedule is not the answer in that case.
• Later amendments to the Act should be checked.

Read next

• Articles 19–25: money lent, deposits, money paid and interest
• Articles 26–30: accounts stated, specified-time promises and bonds
• The Schedule to the Limitation Act, 1963: how it is laid out
• Section 73 of the Indian Contract Act, 1872: compensation for breach of contract

Disclaimer: Based on a consolidated text of the Limitation Act, 1963 and its Schedule whose latest amendment shown is Act 46 of 1999, as consulted on 2 October 2026. A special or local law may fix a different period; later amendments and the current procedural law should be checked. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.