Best Start Your Arbitration Case – Send an Arbitration Notice Lawyer

An arbitration notice is the letter that officially starts your arbitration. It tells the other side that a dispute has arisen under your contract, what you are claiming, and that you want it decided by arbitration as the contract says. It usually also proposes who the arbitrator should be.

This page is for anyone owed money or performance under a contract with an arbitration clause: suppliers with unpaid invoices, contractors with withheld bills, partners and investors with broken agreements. The notice itself takes a few days to prepare properly. What follows depends on the other side's reply. If they agree on an arbitrator, the case begins. If they ignore you for 30 days, you can ask the High Court to appoint one.

The date the other side receives the notice matters a great deal, because Section 21 treats that as the date your arbitration began. That date usually decides whether your claim is within time. If you are close to three years from when the money fell due, send the notice now and refine the claim later.

Is this your situation?

What a good notice does

Why the date of receipt matters so much

For most claims for money under a contract, the Limitation Act gives three years from the date the money became due. Section 43 of the Arbitration Act applies the Limitation Act to arbitrations, and Section 21 fixes the date the arbitration begins as the date the respondent receives the request to refer the dispute. So the question "is my claim in time?" is usually answered by comparing the date of receipt of your notice with the date each amount fell due.

This is why a notice sent by email, courier and registered post together is safer than one sent by a single method. If the other side later denies receiving it, you will need proof. Courier and post tracking printouts, email delivery records and acknowledgement cards all help.

Limitation can also be extended in some cases. A written acknowledgement of the debt, signed by the other side before the three years run out, starts a fresh three-year period under Section 18 of the Limitation Act. A part payment made before the period ends can do the same under Section 19. Balance confirmations, ledger confirmations and emails admitting the amount can be valuable. We look for these first.

The Supreme Court has also said, in Bhagheeratha Engineering v State of Kerala (January 2026), that a Section 21 notice is not a strict precondition to every arbitration. Its absence is not fatal to an otherwise valid claim, but it can matter a great deal for limitation. In practice, we always send one.

How we prepare and send your notice

What to put in, and what to leave out

A notice is not a statement of claim. It does not need every document or every argument. It does need enough to show what the dispute is. Include the contract details, the clause, a short account of the breach, each head of claim with an approximate amount, and a clear request to arbitrate. If you also want the other side to stop doing something, such as encashing a bank guarantee, say so, but remember that only a court or the arbitrator can actually stop them.

Leave out threats, abusive language and statements you cannot prove. Leave out anything that could later be read as giving up a claim, such as "without prejudice to our claim for the first invoice only". If some facts are still being checked, reserve the right to add claims. Arbitrators usually allow amendments, but only for claims that were in dispute when arbitration began.

Be careful with the arbitrator you propose. Under Section 12 and the Seventh Schedule, someone who is your employee, consultant, adviser, relative or business associate cannot act. Propose people with no connection to either side, and give the other side a real choice. That makes it easier to show a court later that you behaved fairly.

Time and typical cost range

Our fees are agreed in writing at the start and are not linked to the outcome.

Documents we need

Where things go after the notice

Common replies, and what they usually mean

"There is no dispute." If they deny owing anything, that is a dispute. If they admit the amount but say they will pay later, ask for it in writing. An admission can be used for a quick award or a summary suit.

"We appoint our own arbitrator." If the clause gives one side the right to choose a sole arbitrator, that clause is open to challenge. Since Perkins Eastman (2019) and the five-judge decision in CORE (2024), a party with an interest in the outcome cannot name the sole arbitrator alone. Object in writing straight away and do not take part in that person's proceedings without reserving your objection. See challenge to arbitrator.

"The claim is time-barred." Check the acknowledgements and part payments. If some claims are old, the arbitrator decides limitation; the High Court in a Section 11 application only refuses where a claim is plainly dead.

"The matter is settled." If they say you accepted a final payment, the question of whether that was a true settlement is for the arbitrator, as the Supreme Court held in SBI General Insurance v Krish Spinning (2024).

No reply at all. After 30 days, file under Section 11. Silence does not stop the case.

Laws that apply

How we work

We are a litigation and advisory practice led by Advocate BK Singh, with offices in Dwarka (New Delhi) and Vaishali (Ghaziabad). This is what you can expect:

• Limitation check before drafting: we tell you which claims are safe and which are at risk.
• Clause-specific notices: no generic format; each notice follows your clause.
• Proper service: every address, every method, with records kept.
• Ready for the next step: the Section 11 petition is prepared as soon as the 30 days run out.
• Written fee terms: agreed stage by stage, never linked to the outcome.

Mistakes we often see

Notices in situations that need extra care

Multi-step clauses. Many construction and supply contracts say a dispute must first go to the project engineer, a dispute board, or senior management for negotiation, and only then to arbitration. Courts usually treat such steps as directory rather than a strict bar, especially where the other side has shown no interest in talking. Still, the safest course is to take the step, or to record in writing why it would be pointless, before the arbitration notice goes out. If limitation is close, send the arbitration notice at the same time and explain that the earlier step has been tried or is futile.

Institutional clauses. If the clause names an institution, such as the Delhi International Arbitration Centre, the India International Arbitration Centre, MCIA or SIAC, a letter to the other side alone may not be enough. Each institution's rules say how a case is started, usually by filing a request with the institution and paying a registration fee. We send the notice to the other side and file the request with the institution, so both routes are covered.

Group companies and non-signatories. Sometimes the real party behind the contract is a parent or sister company that never signed it. Since Cox and Kings v SAP India (2023), a non-signatory can in some cases be bound by an arbitration agreement if the conduct of the parties shows that was the shared intention. If you want to include such a party, the notice should explain why, with the documents that show its involvement in negotiating, performing or terminating the contract.

Guarantors. A personal or corporate guarantor is bound by the arbitration clause only if the guarantee itself contains one or clearly incorporates the main contract's clause. If the guarantee has no clause, your claim against the guarantor may have to go to court even while the main claim goes to arbitration.

Insolvency of the other side. If the other side is a company already admitted into insolvency under the IBC, the moratorium under Section 14 stops new proceedings against it, including arbitration. You would instead file a claim with the resolution professional. If only an insolvency petition is pending and not yet admitted, arbitration can usually be started, but there is a real risk it will be stopped later. Check the NCLT cause list before sending the notice.

MSME suppliers. A registered micro or small supplier has a statutory alternative. It can file before the state Facilitation Council under Section 18 of the MSMED Act, which can override the contract's arbitration clause, as the Supreme Court held in Gujarat State Civil Supplies v Mahakali Foods (2022). The interest under the MSMED Act, compound with monthly rests at three times the bank rate, is often higher than what a contract provides. Compare both routes before choosing.

Putting a number on the claim

Your notice should state the principal amount claimed for each head, the interest you seek, and any other relief, such as release of a bank guarantee or return of a security deposit. Getting the amount roughly right at the notice stage matters for three reasons.

First, the arbitrator's fee under the Fourth Schedule, and an institution's fee, are tied to the amount in dispute. Inflated claims raise costs for everyone, including you.

Second, a claim later found to be grossly exaggerated can affect costs. Under Section 31A, the arbitrator can consider the conduct of the parties, including whether a claim was frivolous, when deciding who pays the costs of the arbitration.

Third, interest is often a large part of the final number. Section 31(7)(a) lets the arbitrator award interest from the date the cause of action arose to the date of the award, at a reasonable rate, unless the contract says otherwise. If the contract bars interest, that bar will usually be enforced: in Union of India v Larsen & Toubro (February 2026), the Supreme Court held that a contractual bar prevents pre-award interest, including interest during the proceedings, even when described as compensation. After the award, Section 31(7)(b) provides interest at 2% above the current rate unless the award says otherwise. We read the interest clause before stating any figure in the notice.

A notice is also an invitation to settle

Most disputes do not end with an award. They end with a payment plan, a partial payment, a credit note or a renegotiated contract. A notice that is factual, firm and clearly ready for the next step often produces a call from the other side's finance head within days.

To keep settlement talks safe, conduct them in writing marked "without prejudice", do not agree to extend deadlines without a written standstill agreement that stops limitation, and do not accept a cheque marked "full and final" unless you mean it. If a settlement is reached after arbitration begins, ask the arbitrator to record it as an award on agreed terms under Section 30, so it can be enforced like any other award. Before arbitration begins, a properly drafted settlement agreement with a default clause gives similar comfort.