Only a mango pulp dispute chipped away at the six-figure sum owed to an Indian exporter
The High Court has upheld a US$131,590 debt demand against import company SS Impex, rejecting most of its counterclaims over allegedly defective food shipments.
SS Impex Limited v Tru Value Overseas PVT Limited [2026] NZHC 2655, released 2 September 2026, concerned an application under s. 290 of the Companies Act 1993 (the Act) to set aside a statutory demand. SS Impex (SSI) imports Indian food products. Tru Value Overseas (TVO) is the Indian exporter that supplied them.
TVO issued the demand in March 2026 for US$153,728.48, covering a series of invoices for Indian food products supplied between October 2024 and July 2025. SSI did not dispute receipt of the goods or their quality, except for one lentil shipment invoiced in February 2025, but said that counterclaims arising from separate, earlier shipments outweighed the debt.
SSI's largest claim concerned tobacco. It said TVO mistakenly included it in an earlier shipment, resulting in a customs fine it put at $407,580.98. The court found that the assessment notice SSI relied on could not be reconciled with the seizure record for that shipment, and that SSI had stayed silent about the claim for more than a year while continuing to promise payment on TVO's invoices. The court held that SSI had failed to establish an arguable loss and, separately, that it should not be permitted to hold the claim back and deploy it only once TVO pressed for payment.
The court also rejected counterclaims regarding jaggery and lentils as unsupported by contemporaneous evidence, noting the absence of credit notes or documented complaints near the time the goods arrived.
Only the mango pulp counterclaim succeeded, and only in part. The court accepted that SSI had an arguable claim to the extent of $37,522, reflecting credit notes SSI had issued to its own customers after recalling the product. It pointed to a message in which TVO appeared to acknowledge the issue. The balance of that claim, covering freight and disposal costs, was dismissed for lack of evidence.
Offsetting the mango pulp amount, converted to US$22,137.98 at the applicable exchange rate, left the statutory demand standing at US$131,590.50. The court extended SSI's time to pay by 10 working days from the date of judgment, and noted that TVO may apply to have SSI placed in liquidation if payment is not made. SSI was ordered to pay TVO's costs on a 2B basis, plus disbursements.
