The Association of Advertising Producers (ASAP) has written to agencies and clients to solve what it calls a 'disturbing trend'.

In the interest of production houses, ASAP has asked agencies and clients to solve the issue of 'delayed payments' because they are 'eroding the sustainable advertising ecosystem.'

The letter claimed that the concern comes after a food supplier of 15 years was recently forced to turn down work because multiple dues from production houses were not cleared for months.

It added that the stretching of payment cycles from 30 to 60 days and beyond, has 'completely crippled the ecosystem'.

The Ministry of Labour has pulled up FWICE (Federation of Western India Cine Employees) to highlight the issue of delayed payments and seek structural redressal.

The ASAP has made a collective appeal to re-examine payment cycles and adopt a fairer, more predictable structure.

It has made the following recommendations:

Advance before PPMs: Production advances must be released before pre-production meetings so that shooting studios, locations, labour (light boys, spot boys, set hands, etc.), caterers, and crew fees can be paid promptly.

Final/balance payment within 30 days of shoot: The body proposes that master production costs should be settled within 30 days from the last day of shoot, rather than being tied to extended deliverables such as cutdowns or social-media assets that may roll out over several months. To accommodate campaign needs, procurement and brand teams can agree with the production house on a clearly defined amount for the additional assets (cut downs, languages, social media assets), which can then be paid upon their delivery — even if included within an overall package cost.