A new fee structure in respect of insolvency fees payable to the Insolvency Service came into force on 21 July 2016, pursuant to The Insolvency Proceedings (Fees) Order 2016 (SI 2016/692) (the “Order”), which revokes The Insolvency Proceedings (Fees) Order 2004 (SI 2004/593) and all ten subsequent amendment orders.

Last week the UK Government issued a consultation document on changing UK insolvency legislation to enable distressed companies to obtain a moratorium for up to three months, with the possibility of an extension, under the supervision of an insolvency practitioner. The moratorium would prevent all creditors, including secured creditors, from taking any enforcement action against such companies without first applying to court for permission to do so. This follows a briefing paper published by R3 last month suggesting a similar moratorium process.

Directors of a company are subject to certain duties under the Companies Act 2006. These duties are of obvious importance throughout their service as a director but some of them become particularly important during the period leading up to the insolvency of the company.

On 14 September 2015, judgment was handed down in the case of Re SSRL Realisations Limited (In Administration), in which a landlord was granted permission to forfeit a lease by peaceable re-entry. The case will be of interest to insolvency practitioners and landlords alike – but for very different reasons.

Il Decreto Legge n. 83 del 27 giugno 2015, convertito dalla Legge n. 132 del 6 agosto 2015, pubblicata in Gazzetta Ufficiale il 20 agosto 2015 (la “Legge 132”) ha introdotto una serie di misure di sostegno per la crescita economica relative alle procedure pre-fallimentari, a quelle esecutive e a specifici benefici fiscali.

1. MODIFICHE ALLE PROCEDURE PRE-FALLIMENTARI

• Previsioni generali relative alla procedura di concordato preventivo

Law Decree no. 83 of 27 June 2015, recently converted into Law 132/2015, which was approved on 6 August 2015 and published on the Official Gazette on 20 August 2015 (the “Law 132”) introduced a number of measures aimed at enhancing the economic growth mainly related to pre-insolvency procedures, enforcement procedures and fiscal benefits.

At a time when insolvency practitioner’s (“IPs”) fees are being scrutinised more closely than ever, the case of Bell v Birchall and others [2015] is a timely reminder to IPs to consider the necessity of the work they propose to undertake, particularly in respect of assets that do not form part of the insolvent estate. In this case, the court ruled that it had no jurisdiction to make a “Berkeley Applegate” order.

Creditors frustrated by cost and time delays in cross border disputes, as well as from unscrupulous delaying tactics by debtors, will have some comfort in the form of the revised EU Judgments Regulation. The revised Regulation came into force on 10 January 2015 and aims to resolve cross-border legal disputes more easily, bringing huge cost savings to creditors.

The vast majority of UK taxpayers pay what they owe in full and on time. Her Majesty’s Revenues and Customs (HMRC) thinks that a persistent minority choose not to pay which provides an undeserved advantage to those who are wilfully seeking to play the system, and creates costs which are ultimately borne by the compliant majority.

Con l’art. 33 del D.L. 22 giugno 2012 n. 831 il legislatore ha ampliato il novero delle ipotesi in cui le perdite su crediti iscritte in bilancio sono deducibili ai fini delle imposte sui redditi ed esteso agli accordi di ristrutturazione dei debiti omologati e ai piani attestati di risanamento la disciplina dell’irrilevanza impositiva delle sopravvenienze attive realizzate dall’impresa debitrice in relazione alla riduzione dei debiti nell’ambito delle procedure concorsuali.