Ricoh SA has successfully applied to the North Gauteng High Court for an application to liquidate Bula Document Solutions, which had been reselling and servicing equipment on its behalf.
In the recent judgement, handed down by acting judge George Avvakoumides, the court found Bula did not have sufficient money to pay Ricoh the almost R19 million it was owed, and was depleting its bank accounts to pay other creditors.
Richard Pinker, MD of Ricoh SA, says the situation is not optimal, although the entity is financially strong.
Ricoh SA had the exclusive right to distribute Ricoh equipment in SA, in a deal that also included Namibia, Botswana, Swaziland, Lesotho and Mozambique. It entered into a non-exclusive deal with Bula in 2011, which was later renewed, for it to on-sell, supply and service photocopying machines into the local market.
Ricoh paid Bula rebates on a 21-day cycle, while it collected debt from clients in 30 days, and was meant to pay Ricoh a month later. Bula's debt to Ricoh mounted up, until March 2012, when no further sales were made.
Bula, according to the judgement, repeatedly breached its deal with Ricoh by not making payments, and the agreement was eventually cancelled before arbitration between the parties, which was not successful.
Ricoh claimed Bula owed it almost R19 million, but Bula argued it was owed R826 558 by Ricoh. However, Avvakoumides found Bula's claim was unfounded, and ruled in Ricoh's favour.
Pinker explains Bula's liquidator will now do an investigation to follow the money, and Ricoh will then take whatever appropriate action is available to recover the funds. "At this stage, we have been asked to provide an affidavit with invoices and statements, which we have and will submit."
ITWeb unsuccessfully attempted to contact Bula through its attorneys for comment.
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