The courts did not recognize the lack of funding as a valid reason for late payment of the state contract
The contractor delivered the goods under the contract. He appealed to the court, since the customer paid for the products only partially. The contractor demanded to reimburse: the
main debt; a
penalty for late payment;
expenses for a representative.
The customer explained that he did not pay for all the goods on time due to lack of funding. During the consideration of the case, the debt was partially repaid.
The courts did not recognize this reason as valid:
lack of funds does not exclude the need to fulfill the obligations under the contract and does not exempt from the penalty;
the customer has not proved that he has taken all measures to properly fulfill his obligations. There are no documents confirming the impossibility of timely payment.
The principal debt, the penalty, partially the expenses for the representative, as well as the state duty were collected from the customer.
A similar position is taken, in particular, by the 4th AAS, the West Siberian AS.
Document: Resolution of the AC of the North-Western District of 28.06.2021 in the case N A05-12659/2020