In 2009, to promote corporate restructuring, the MoF and the SAT jointly released Circular Caishui [2009] No. 59 to  grant tax deferral treatment to qualified corporate restructuring transactions (recently modified by Circular 109, mentioned above, which expanded its scope).

In 2010, the SAT released Announcement [2010] No. 4, providing procedural guidelines to benefit from the tax deferral treatment.

Bankruptcy remains the most well-known, and perhaps most feared, of the personal insolvency processes. Since the current threshold was introduced 30 years ago, it has been used by creditors owed as little as £750 as a dire threat to extract payment from reluctant debtors. However, the Government has stepped in and is squeezing the bankruptcy process, seeking to ensure bankruptcy is reserved for the most appropriate cases and encouraging alternative regimes for the management of small debts.

In a challenging economy bankruptcy increasingly stands accused of constituting a mechanism for debtors to escape their responsibilities at their creditors' expense. It understandably remains a live debate as to whether a bankrupt should be afforded the means of a protected pot of money for his future use while his creditors are left unrecompensed for their loss. The debate is not new, but the balance has perhaps shifted in a climate where creditor losses are felt particularly keenly.

NEW REFORM OF THE INSOLVENCY ACT CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 2 AMENDMENTS REGARDING REFINANCING AGREEMENTS 3 - NOTIFICATION OF THE START OF NEGOTIATIONS 3 - REFINANCING AGREEMENTS AND COURT APPROVAL 4 AMENDMENTS REGARDING COMPOSITION AGREEMENTS 4 - CONTENT OF THE COMPOSITION AGREEMENT 4 - QUORUM FOR THE CREATION OF THE CREDITORS’ MEETING AND CALCULATION OF MAJORITIES 5 AMENDMENTS REGARDING LIQUIDATION 5 AMENDMENTS REGARDING THE CLASSIFICATION OF THE INSOLVENCY PROCEEDINGS 6 TELEMATIC COMMUNICATIONS AND PUBLIC INSOLVENCY REGISTRY 7 LEGAL UPDATE I COMMERCIAL AND LITIGATION PRACTICE AREAS June 2015

财政部国家税务总局关于个人非货币性资产投资有关个人所得税政策的通知)

On March 30, 2015, the Ministry of Finance (“MoF”) and the SAT jointly released Caishui [2015] No. 41 (“Circular 41”) to expand nationwide the tax payment installment policy applicable in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone to income derived from non-monetary asset investment made by individuals.

Circular 41 defines non-monetary asset investment and includes the contribution of non-monetary assets to establish a new company, to participate in company capital increase, private placement of stock, stock exchange and corporate restructuring.

(财政部、国家税务总局关于进一步支持企业事业单位改制重组有关契税政策的通知)

Following  the  State  Council’s  call  to  introduce  policies  promoting  corporate restructuring in Guofa [2014] No. 14, MoF and SAT released Caishui [2015] No. 37 (“Circular 37”) to exempt from deed tax the transfer of land use rights and building ownership rights in the following corporate transactions:

The BIS and Scottish Affairs Commons Select Committees have published a joint report recommending greater protection for workers when a business is faced with insolvency. The report was issued in response to the recent collapse of City Link (The impact of the closure of City Link on Employment).

In Re Mark Irwin Forstater [2015] BPIR, the petitioning creditor presented a bankruptcy petition against the debtor, Mr Forstater, on 13 June 2014. It first came before the court on 30 July 2014, when it was adjourned to allow the  debtor to take legal advice. At the adjourned hearing on 12 August 2014, the debtor indicated that he intended to pursue an IVA. The hearing was adjourned again to await the outcome of a meeting of creditors. The meeting of creditors was itself adjourned for 14 days from 1 September 2014 to 15 September 2014.

Income payments orders (IPOs) are an essential tool for the trustee in bankruptcy in realising a bankrupt’s assets. Until recently, it had been assumed that, absent circumstances akin to fraud, a trustee in bankruptcy could not touch a bankrupt’s undrawn pension. However, in Raithatha v Williamson, the court decided that an income payments order may be made where the bankrupt has an entitlement to elect to draw a pension but has not exercised it at the time of the application. 

Drawn versus undrawn

In January 2015, the Government published legislation which proposes to increase the level of debt necessary for a creditor to present a bankruptcy petition to £5,000 from 1 October 2015 (Draft Insolvency Act 1986 (Amendment) Order 2015). This represents a significant increase on the current law which allows a petition to be presented on a debt of just £750. It has apparently been proposed to dissuade creditors from using this arguably aggressive mechanism to collect relatively low level debts.

Debt Relief Orders