11 December 2023 Dilip B. Jiwrajka v. Union of India & Ors – the Hon’ble Supreme Court Affirms the Constitutionality of Insolvency Resolution Process for Individuals and Partnership Firms 2 INTRODUCTION In its recent decision in the matter of Dilip B. Jiwrajka V.
As the ‘slow crush’ of persistently high interest rates bites, businesses of all kinds are struggling and many are reaching the point of failure, as indicated by each month’s number of creditors’ voluntary liquidations (CVLs) charting higher than the same period a year prior. The latest statistics from The Insolvency Service reveal that registered company insolvencies in October 2023 were 18% higher than in the same month in 2022.
On 31 October, 2023, in Sanjay Kumar Agarwal v State Tax Officer 1, 2023 SCC OnLine SC 1406, the Supreme Court of India (SC) in the exercise of its powers of review under Article 137 of the Constitution of India, (Rainbow Review) affirmed the view expressed by another bench of the SC in State Tax Officer (I) v. Rainbow Papers Limited 2022 SCC OnLine SC 1162 (Rainbow Judgment) that may have far reaching effects on the treatment of dues to the Government or governmental authorities in insolvency resolution proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC).
On 26 September 2023, our Insolvency and Asset Recovery team hosted a seminar explaining the emerging and developing types of disputes focussed on insolvent estate recoveries.
Introduction
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) on 18 September 2023 notified the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (Insolvency Resolution Process for Corporate Persons) (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2023 (CIRP Amendment Regulations) amending the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (Insolvency Resolution Process for Corporate Persons) Regulations, 2016 (CIRP Regulations).
The key changes brought about by the CIRP Amendment Regulations are as follows:
Divorce and Family partner Lisette Dupré and Commercial Litigation partner Elaina Bailes were among 500 lawyers from more than 50 countries who gathered for the AIJA International Young Lawyers’ Congress in Rio between 20 and 26 August. This year’s theme was rethinking the law in four dimensions, which called upon speakers to think more about how the law may develop in the next five years than simply looking at how it stands today.
Introduction
Section 423 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (s423) provides for the avoidance of transactions intended to put assets out of the reach of creditors or otherwise prejudice their interests. It is one of the most effective weapons in global asset recovery scenarios and is widely used. Partner Tim Symes, associate Jack Barlow and paralegal Bruno Ponte consider the proof needed to get home on an s423 claim, consider some recent caselaw and provide examples of what a court might order if a claim is successful.
A combination of continued high prices and rising interest rates has heaped pressure on already struggling businesses through the summer of 2023. The challenging circumstances have lead to an overall rise in creditors’ voluntary liquidations (CVLs) compared to both earlier months and the previous year, though the picture borne out by the statistics is more complicated than might be expected.
On 17 July 2023, the Hon’ble Supreme Court delivered its judgement in Paschimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd. v. Raman Ispat Private Limited & Ors., 2023 SCC OnLine SC 842 (Raman Ispat). The specific issue of whether Paschimanchal Vidyut Vitran Nigam Ltd. (Appellant) could enforce a security interest created over the assets of Raman Ispat Private Limited (Corporate Debtor) outside of the liquidation proceedings under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (Code) was settled in the negative. More importantly, the Hon’ble Supreme Court confined the applicability of State Tax Officer v.