An attempt to reform and rationalize the Belgian Bankruptcy Act of 8 August 1997 and the Continuity of Enterprises Act of 31 January 2009 included the introduction of a "silent bankruptcy" that offered distressed companies the opportunity to prepare for a real bankruptcy discreetly and without any publicity, along the lines of the UK's pre-pack procedures.
While the bill was adopted in mid-July 2017 and will apply to insolvency proceedings opened on or after 1 May 2018, the attempt to include pre-pack procedures in the reform has failed.
This spring
For the benefit of our clients and friends investing in European distressed opportunities, our European Network is sharing some current developments.
Recent Developments
The law of 11 August 2017 that adds Book XX "Insolvency of Enterprises" into the Code of Economic Law enters into force on 1 May 2018.
As we already stated in our previous contributions about the reform of the insolvency law, this law modifies and regroups the Bankruptcy law and the Law of 31 January 2009 on the Continuity of Enterprises.
1. The notion "Enterprise" replaces the notion "Merchant"
The Delaware Bankruptcy Court recently dismissed a Chapter 11 bankruptcy case pending before it and recognized, under Chapter 15 of the Bankruptcy Code, the debtor’s bankruptcy proceeding in Belgium. Exelco NV (“Exelco”), a Belgian diamond distributor, owed KBC Bank NV (“KBC”) approximately US$14 million. KBC’s debt was secured by a pledge on essentially all of Exelco’s assets. Exelco’s debt was also guaranteed by an affiliated company and certain individuals. When Exelco defaulted on its debt obligations, KBC commenced a sort of involuntary insolvency proceeding in Belgium.
Sellers and suppliers of movable assets can deal with problems caused by poorly-paying customers through a retention of title clause. This clause makes it contractually possible to stipulate that ownership of a certain good does not transfer until the third party acquirer has paid the full price.
It is interesting to note that the new Law on Pledges has created a better legal framework for the retention of title clause, putting any creditor - assuming a retention of title clause has been included - in a stronger position.
As from 1 May 2018, the Belgian insolvency landscape will look different following the entry into force of the brand new Insolvency Law (Book XX of the Economic Law Code). In the wake of the electronic debt reporting system that came into force on 1 April 2017, the filing of bankruptcy must also be made electronically in the Central Solvency Register (RegSol) as of 1 May 2018.
Freezing Injunctions
On 13 July 2017 parliament voted to introduce book XX "Insolvency of Companies" in the Code of Economic Law.
In a previous article we already wrote that the insolvency law would be adapted to current national and international regulations and case law and would be incorporated into the Code of Economic Law as a coherent whole.
In this way, solvency procedures must be more transparent, efficient and effective.
Since 1 January 2017, the law explicitly provides for a general option for the National Social Security Office (“NSSO”) to recover undisputed debts by means of a writ of execution.
This means that the NSSO can provide itself an enforceable title (a writ of execution) without having to rely on the labor court.
The recovery through a writ of execution can be used for all contributions, penalties, interests and other amounts that would be due to the NSSO. It is, however, important that it concerns debts:
(i) that are not fundamentally disputed;