New Delhi, Nov. 17 -- The Centre is considering a new set of measures-including charging interest and imposing a substantial levy on defaulters-to address the long-standing issue of delayed payments to micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), said two people close to the matter.

The MSME and finance ministries are discussing amendments to the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development (MSMED) Act, 2006, to enforce automatic interest accrual after payments remain overdue beyond the 45-day period, as verified through the UDYAM portal, unless the contract specifies a longer period, one of the two people said.

"Another proposal is to penalize non-compliance with a levy amounting to 2% of large buyers' turnovers," the person added....