In short. Section 29A of the Arbitration and Conciliation Act sets the time limit. The award has to come within 12 months of the completion of pleadings, and pleadings themselves must be done within 6 months of the arbitrator's appointment. Both sides can agree to 6 more months. After that, only a court can extend. So a domestic case where everyone cooperates can reach an award in roughly 18 to 24 months. A fought case with court petitions often takes longer. Note today the date pleadings were completed, and keep an eye on the deadline.
Is this your situation?
- You're about to start an arbitration and want an honest answer on when the award might actually come.
- Your arbitration is well into its second year and nobody, not the tribunal and not your own lawyer, has said a word about Section 29A.
- The other side's counsel has asked you to consent to a six-month extension. You can't tell whether agreeing helps you or them.
- The 18 months ran out some weeks back. The tribunal is still recording evidence.
- An award arrived after the time had expired and you want to know if it's worth anything.
- You're the respondent, and the claimant keeps asking for adjournments while the clock ticks.
- Time is one of the reasons you're weighing arbitration against a commercial suit or the MSME Council.
How long does it take? The short version
On paper, a domestic arbitration in India should end in an award about 18 months after the tribunal is appointed. Up to 6 months go on pleadings under Section 23(4). Then there are 12 months for evidence, arguments and the award under Section 29A. The parties can add 6 months by consent. After that, the tribunal's mandate ends unless a court extends it.
Real life is slower. The clock doesn't start the day you send your notice. Getting a tribunal in place takes a few weeks if both sides agree on an arbitrator, and several months if you have to go to the High Court under Section 11. After the award, there's a three-month window for a Section 34 challenge and then, quite often, a court round of a year or more. From notice to money in your bank, a contested arbitration commonly takes two to four years. A cooperative one, with a respondent who pays, takes much less.
That's still quicker than plenty of civil suits, and the statutory time limit is the reason. Until the 2015 amendment, which took effect in October 2015, there was no deadline at all, and arbitrations dragging on for eight or ten years weren't unusual. Section 29A changed the incentives. The tribunal now has to finish, or explain itself to a court. And its fees can be cut for delay.
The sections that set the clock
Section 23(4): pleadings in 6 months
The statement of claim and the defence have to be completed within six months from the date the arbitrator, or all the arbitrators, got written notice of their appointment. This came in by the 2019 amendment, because pleadings used to drag on for years.
Section 29A(1): award in 12 months from completion of pleadings
In a domestic arbitration, the award must be made within twelve months from the date pleadings under Section 23(4) are completed. In an international commercial arbitration, the tribunal should make the award as quickly as it can and try to finish in twelve months. There's no hard deadline there.
Section 29A(3): extension by consent
By consent, the parties can extend the time for the award by up to six more months. Just once.
Section 29A(4) to (9): extension by the court
If the award isn't made in time, the arbitrators' mandate ends, unless the court extends it. The court can do that before or after the period runs out, and while the extension application is pending, the mandate carries on. The court extends only for sufficient cause, and it can attach terms. If the tribunal caused the delay, it can cut the arbitrators' fees by up to five percent for each month. It can replace one arbitrator or all of them. It can also order actual or exemplary costs. The application is to be decided as fast as possible, with the court trying to finish within sixty days of notice to the other side.
Section 29B: fast track
If both parties agree in writing, a sole arbitrator decides the dispute on written pleadings, documents and submissions. The award has to come within six months of the tribunal entering on the reference.
When the 12 months start running
The 12 months under Section 29A start from the completion of pleadings. Not from your notice of arbitration. Not from the first sitting. Pleadings are usually complete once the statement of defence, any counter claim and the reply to that counter claim are on file, and tribunals often allow a rejoinder as well. Ask the tribunal to record, in a procedural order, the date pleadings stood completed. It's the safest thing you can do. Skip it, and the parties end up fighting about the start date in the Section 29A court, burning exactly the time the section was meant to save.
Section 29A took its present form in the 2019 amendment, which moved the start date from the tribunal entering on the reference to the completion of pleadings. In Tata Sons Pvt Ltd v. Siva Industries and Holdings Ltd (2023), the Supreme Court held that the amended section applies to arbitrations already pending when it came into force. It also confirmed that international commercial arbitrations sit outside the hard deadline.
The tribunal is treated as having entered on the reference on the day the arbitrator, or all the arbitrators, received written notice of appointment. You'll need that date three times. It starts the 6 months under Section 23(4). It starts the fast track period under Section 29B. And it matters for any extra fee the parties agree to pay for an award within six months under Section 29A(3).
How long each stage tends to take
| Stage | What the law says | Usual range in practice | What holds it up |
|---|---|---|---|
| Notice invoking arbitration, and the reply | Section 21: arbitration begins when the respondent receives the notice | 30 days to reply is common | Wrong address, no proof of delivery, a vague notice |
| Appointment by agreement | Whatever the clause says | 2 to 8 weeks | Arguing over names, conflict disclosures |
| Appointment by the High Court under Section 11 | Section 11(13): court to try to dispose of it within 60 days of notice | 3 to 12 months | Slow service, objections on limitation or on whether the clause exists |
| Pleadings | Section 23(4): within 6 months of appointment | 4 to 8 months | Counter claims, amendments, Section 16 applications |
| Evidence and arguments | Inside the 12 months under Section 29A(1) | 6 to 12 months | Witnesses not available, adjournments, expert reports |
| Award | Within the 12 months, plus 6 by consent | 1 to 3 months after arguments | Big records, three-member tribunals |
| Court extension under Section 29A(5) | Court to try to decide within 60 days | 1 to 6 months | Objections from the other side, listing delays |
| Section 34 challenge | 3 months to file, plus up to 30 days; under Section 34(6), the court is to decide within 1 year of notice | 1 to 3 years | Court workload, stay applications |
Time lost before the tribunal even exists
A lot of businesses lose the first six months before Section 29A has anything to say. The notice goes to an old address. Or it doesn't name the proposed arbitrator. Or it's emailed to the managing director with no hard copy. The other side then says it never got a valid notice, and commencement becomes the first fight. A clear Section 21 notice, served the way the contract says, avoids all of this. Our guide on invoking an arbitration clause with a Section 21 notice has the essentials.
Next comes appointment. If the clause sets out a procedure and the other side ignores it, the only way forward is a Section 11 petition to the High Court (or to the Supreme Court in an international case). After In re Interplay (2023) and SBI General Insurance v. Krish Spinning (2024), the referral court only asks whether an arbitration agreement exists, so these petitions are narrower than they used to be. Listing still takes time. Our piece on going to court under Section 11 to get an arbitrator appointed explains what the court will and won't decide.
The third early delay is a challenge to the arbitrator. Once you learn facts suggesting the arbitrator isn't independent, Section 13 gives you 15 days to raise them with the tribunal, and even a late or bad-faith challenge will still eat up a hearing or two while it's dealt with. If your objection is real, raise it straight away. We explain how in objecting to an arbitrator who isn't independent.
The 12 months are nearly up: extension by consent
As the 12 months near their end, the tribunal usually asks both sides if they'll consent to a six-month extension under Section 29A(3). Put the consent in writing, signed, or have it recorded in a procedural order. And give it before the 12 months expire. The law allows one consensual extension. You can't agree a second six months to keep the court out of it.
Should you agree? Usually, if the case is close to final arguments and nobody's to blame for the delay. Refusing just pushes both sides into a court application, which costs more and may end in the same extension anyway. A respondent who wants the case to die might be tempted to say no, but courts generally extend where the tribunal has been working steadily, and they can put costs on the party whose conduct caused the delay.
Consent is also your chance to pin down a timetable. Agree to the extension on condition that the tribunal records dates for each remaining witness, for written submissions and for oral arguments. A vague six months becomes a plan. People can be held to a plan.
How a court extension under Section 29A works
Once the 18 months are gone, only the court can extend. Either side may apply, under Section 29A(5). The court wants sufficient cause, which in practice means explaining why the case isn't finished, what's left, and how long it'll take. The Supreme Court has pushed for a practical approach rather than a technical one here. The alternative is a fresh tribunal or a fresh arbitration, and that nearly always wastes more time and money than an extension.
The court has more options than yes or no. It can extend on terms, a fixed timetable for instance, so that everyone knows from the order itself which witness is heard when and when the award must come. If the tribunal caused the delay, it can cut the arbitrators' fees by up to five percent for each month of delay, after hearing them. It can replace one arbitrator or all of them, and a reconstituted tribunal carries on from the stage already reached, with the evidence already recorded left standing. It can also make a party that caused the delay pay costs, actual or exemplary.
Don't argue the merits of your claim in an extension application. Keep it tight. The date of appointment, the date pleadings were completed, the procedural history, what's still pending, and how much time you want. Attach the procedural orders. Often the most persuasive page in the file is a plain table of hearing dates showing who asked for each adjournment.
Applying for a Section 29A extension
Start two to three months before the extended deadline, at the latest. Not after it.
Pin down the deadline
Take the date pleadings were completed, add 12 months, and add 6 more if consent was given. If a court order stayed any part of the period, account for that too. Write the final date on the file cover. In big letters.
Get a timetable from the tribunal
Ask the tribunal to record what's left (witnesses, written submissions, arguments) along with a realistic schedule. The court will want to know how much time you really need.
Find the right court
The application goes to the court defined in Section 2(1)(e), which is usually the court of the seat with jurisdiction over the subject matter. Check whether the value takes it to a High Court with original jurisdiction or to a district commercial court.
Draft and file
Set out the dates, the procedural history and the time you're asking for, with copies of the procedural orders and the consent extension. Serve the other side. Tell the tribunal.
Keep the arbitration going
Under the proviso to Section 29A(4), the mandate continues while the application is pending. Ask the tribunal to carry on with evidence. It shouldn't deliver the award until the court decides, though.
Follow the court's terms
Once time is extended, file the court's order with the tribunal and stick to any timetable or condition it sets. Miss a court deadline and a second application becomes much harder to justify.
Which court hears a Section 29A application?
This was fought over for years. Some High Courts said that if the High Court had appointed the arbitrator under Section 11, only the High Court could extend the mandate or substitute the arbitrator. Others said the application belongs in the principal civil court defined in Section 2(1)(e), no matter who appointed the tribunal. The Supreme Court settled it in Jagdeep Chowgule v. Sheela Chowgule (January 2026). The Section 29A court is the Section 2(1)(e) court, not the High Court or Supreme Court acting under Section 11. Once the appointing court has appointed, its job is done.
So for a domestic arbitration seated in Delhi, value and subject matter decide the court. The Delhi High Court has ordinary original civil jurisdiction above Rs 2 crore, and under Section 10 of the Commercial Courts Act, arbitration applications in commercial disputes of that size go to its Commercial Division. Below that, you file before the District Judge (Commercial) with jurisdiction, at Saket, Tis Hazari, Karkardooma or wherever the case belongs. For cases seated in Noida, Ghaziabad or Gurugram, it's the court designated as Commercial Court for that district. Check the current limit before you file. In July 2026 the Delhi High Court's Full Court recommended raising the district court figure to Rs 10 crore, and that needs an amendment to the Delhi High Court Act.
Arbitrations run by the Delhi International Arbitration Centre follow the same rules. Our sister site's guide to the DIAC arbitration time limit also covers the Centre's own scrutiny steps.
The deadline has already passed. Now what?
Don't panic. Don't sit on it either. In Rohan Builders (India) Pvt Ltd v. Berger Paints India Ltd (2024), the Supreme Court held that you can apply to extend time even after the 12 or 18 months have expired. Termination of the mandate under Section 29A(4) is conditional. It lasts only until the court decides whether to extend.
Awards made after the time ran out, with no extension at all, are a separate problem. In C. Velusamy v. K. Indhera (2026), the Supreme Court held that such an award is ineffective and can't be enforced as a decree under Section 36. No Section 34 challenge is needed. But the arbitrator's mistake doesn't kill the court's power to extend the mandate. If the court extends, the tribunal picks up where it stopped and finishes within the time granted.
The lesson is practical. If you hold a late award, check the dates before you file for enforcement. The other side certainly will. If a late award has gone against you, raise the point at the right time and before the right forum. Either way, an extension application may be the quickest way out.
International and MSME cases
In an international commercial arbitration, where at least one party is foreign, Section 29A(1) only asks the tribunal to try to finish within twelve months. The mandate doesn't terminate. Institutional rules may still set their own timelines. And Section 29A doesn't govern foreign-seated arbitrations at all.
For a micro or small supplier's delayed payment reference under Section 18 of the MSMED Act, Section 18(5) asks the Facilitation Council to decide within 90 days of the reference. Councils often take longer. What happens once 90 days pass is a separate question. The MSMED (Amendment) Act, 2026 recasts Sections 18 and 19, but we couldn't find the new provisions notified as of late October 2026, so check the current position. Our note on how long an MSME Facilitation Council case takes goes into it.
Don't confuse any of this with limitation. Section 29A is about how long the tribunal has to decide. The Limitation Act decides whether you brought the claim in time at all, which usually means three years from when the money fell due, counted up to the date the other side received your Section 21 notice. Our article on when limitation applies to arbitration claims shows how the two clocks interact.
Why arbitrations run late, and what actually helps
- Nobody records the pleadings date. Then the 12 months become something to argue about. As soon as the last pleading is filed, ask for a procedural order fixing the date.
- Adjournments by consent. Counsel on both sides have other matters, they agree to adjourn, and the tribunal goes along with it. Each one looks harmless. Add them up and the 12 months are gone. Ask for a fixed calendar of dates at the start.
- Late documents and amendments. At the evidence stage, a party produces a fresh bundle, the other side wants time to respond, and a witness has to be recalled. Disclose everything with your pleadings.
- Too many witnesses. Five people saying the same thing about the same invoices add months. You usually need one witness who knows the account and one who knows the technical issue.
- The tribunal's diary. Busy arbitrators, three-member tribunals especially, struggle to give continuous dates. When an arbitration comes to Advocate B.K. Singh halfway through, he first asks for the full list of past hearing dates. It shows quickly whether a party or the tribunal is behind the delay, and that decides how the Section 29A application should be framed.
- Side litigation in court. Section 9, Section 16 and Section 37 litigation runs in parallel. Sometimes it's needed. It shouldn't stop the arbitration, and tribunals usually carry on unless a court orders otherwise.
Can you build speed in from day one?
Yes. The big choices are made in the arbitration clause and at the first sitting. A sole arbitrator moves faster than three, for the simple reason that one diary is easier to manage than three. Where the case is about invoices, deliveries and payments, a documents-based procedure with little or no oral evidence saves months. And a timetable agreed at the first sitting, with a date for every step, gives the tribunal something to enforce.
If both sides agree, Section 29B fast track arbitration requires an award within six months of the tribunal entering on the reference. It's decided on written pleadings and submissions unless the tribunal needs an oral hearing. Documentary claims suit it well. We cover the details in fast track arbitration under Section 29B.
Video hearings save time as well, particularly for witnesses based in Mumbai or Bengaluru. And under Section 25, the tribunal can go ahead if a party fails to file its defence or to appear without sufficient cause, so an absent respondent can't stall the case. Time and money go together, of course. The cost side of these choices is in how much arbitration costs in India.
From award to payment: how long?
Getting the award isn't the finish line. The losing party has three months from receiving it to file a Section 34 challenge, and that can stretch by up to 30 days for sufficient cause, but no further. Since the 2015 amendment, a challenge doesn't automatically stay the award. The court may grant a stay on conditions, usually a deposit or security for the amount awarded. Section 34(6) asks the court to decide within one year of notice. Busy courts take longer. We set out the grounds and procedure in how to challenge an arbitral award under Section 34.
If nobody challenges, or once the challenge fails, the award is enforced like a decree under Section 36. From there, it's about how easily the debtor's assets can be found and attached. Our guide on enforcing an arbitral award in India walks through the steps. Plan for this phase. An award against a company with nothing visible in its name takes a while to turn into money.
Dates to put in the diary in every arbitration
- The date the respondent received your Section 21 notice, with proof of delivery.
- The date each arbitrator got written notice of appointment.
- Six months after that: the last date for pleadings under Section 23(4).
- The date the tribunal records that pleadings are complete.
- Twelve months after pleadings closed: your first Section 29A deadline.
- The date both sides gave written consent to the six-month extension, if they did.
- Eighteen months after pleadings closed: after this, you need a court application.
- The date you received the signed award. The three months for any Section 34 challenge start here.
An invented example: the pleadings date nobody wrote down
This one is made up. An interiors contractor from Noida claims Rs 2.4 crore from the owner of a Ghaziabad hotel for fit-out work. A sole arbitrator is appointed by agreement in February. The statement of claim goes in during April. The defence, with a counter claim for delay, follows in July, and the contractor replies to the counter claim in September. Nobody asks the tribunal to record when pleadings were complete.
Evidence begins in December. Twice, the hotel's witness isn't available. The contractor's quantity surveyor needs time for a supplementary report. Arguments get fixed for the following November. Then, in August, the hotel's lawyers write that the mandate expired in July, counting 12 months from the defence, and they refuse consent to any extension. The contractor's answer is that pleadings closed in September with the reply to the counter claim. On that view the 12 months run to September, and consent can still be given.
A whole hearing goes on the starting date. The contractor files a Section 29A application in the court that has jurisdiction over a dispute of that value. The court finds the tribunal has worked steadily and that both sides sought adjournments, and extends time by six months with a fixed timetable. About four months are lost, all of which one line in a September procedural order would have saved. None of these facts are real.
How the timeline feels depending on where you sit
- Claimants with unpaid invoices. Every month hurts. Push for a tight timetable, a documents-led procedure and an early date for arguments. If the respondent is moving assets, think about interim relief.
- Respondents. Delay isn't a defence. Courts extend mandates readily when the tribunal has been diligent, and they can make the party who stalled pay the costs. Use the time to negotiate a better settlement, not to drag things out.
- MSME suppliers. Check first whether the Facilitation Council is open to you. The statute asks it to decide within 90 days, and interest runs at three times the bank rate.
- Government departments and PSUs. Waiting on internal approval for a consent extension or a deposit can cause delay all by itself. Advocate B.K. Singh's advice to public sector clients is to get standing approval for a consent extension at the very start. That way the six months under Section 29A(3) don't slip away while a file travels from desk to desk.
- Startups and growing companies. Two or three years until you recover the money will show up in your valuation and in what you report to investors. Factor that into any settlement talk.
What to do this week
If your arbitration is under way, pull out the procedural orders and find the date pleadings were completed. If no order records it, write to the tribunal and ask for one. Count 12 months. Then 18. Put both dates in your own calendar and your lawyer's. If the 18-month date is less than three months off and evidence isn't finished, start on the Section 29A application now.
If you're about to start, think about a sole arbitrator, a documents-led procedure and a timetable fixed at the first sitting. For the general picture of how a case moves from notice to award, read what arbitration is and how it works in India.
If you'd like the dates in your arbitration checked, or need advice on an extension or a late award, contact Advocate B.K. Singh through the contact page. We can look at your papers and tell you where the law currently stands.
Frequently asked questions
Is there a time limit for an arbitrator to give an award in India?
For domestic arbitrations, yes. Section 29A says the award must be made within 12 months of the completion of pleadings. The parties can add 6 months by consent. Beyond that, it's up to the court. International commercial arbitrations have no hard deadline.
Can the parties extend the time by consent more than once?
Only once. Section 29A(3) allows one consensual extension, of up to six months. Anything beyond that has to come from the court, on an application under Section 29A(5).
What happens if the court refuses to extend time?
The arbitrators' mandate stands terminated. The court may instead substitute the arbitrator, and then the proceedings carry on from the stage already reached. If neither happens, you may have to pursue the claim afresh, subject to limitation.
Who can file a Section 29A application, the claimant or the respondent?
Either party. Usually it's the claimant, because it's the one waiting for the award, but a respondent with a counter claim can apply too. The arbitrator can't file it.
Does the arbitration stop while the Section 29A application is pending?
It doesn't. The proviso to Section 29A(4) keeps the mandate alive until the court decides. Tribunals usually carry on with evidence and arguments and just hold back the award until the extension comes through.
Can the court cut the arbitrator's fees for delay?
Yes. If it finds the tribunal was responsible for the delay, it can reduce the fees by up to five percent for each month of delay. The arbitrators get a chance to be heard first.
Does Section 29A apply to arbitrations that started before 2019?
Yes. The Supreme Court held in Tata Sons v. Siva Industries (2023) that the amended Section 29A applies to domestic arbitrations that were pending when the 2019 amendment came into force. So the current 12-month period from completion of pleadings applies to those cases too.
How long does a Section 29A extension application take?
The Act asks the court to try to decide it within 60 days of notice to the other side. If nobody opposes, it's often over in a few hearings. Contested ones can take longer, depending on the court's list.
Advocate B.K. Singh
Founder of B.K. Singh & Associates. MCA, LL.B., LL.M. More than twenty years in practice before the Supreme Court, the Delhi High Court, district and commercial courts in Delhi NCR, and tribunals.
This guide explains the law in general terms and is not legal advice. For advice on your own papers, contact the team.