A recent decision of the Full Federal Court gives liquidators comfort that they are not required to set money aside to meet the future tax obligations of a company until those obligations have been assessed by the Tax Office. Although liquidators must retain money 'sufficient to pay tax which is or will become due', this obligation only applies to tax liabilities that have been assessed and are presently payable or payable in the future, not to liabilities that might be created by future assessments.

In brief: The Full Federal Court has held that a liquidator has no obligation to retain monies on account of tax until a notice of assessment has been issued. While the decision is a win for taxpayers (and creditors of insolvent entities), it remains to be seen how the Commissioner of Taxation will respond. Partner Katrina Parkyn (view CV), Senior Associate Joanne Langford and Associate Jay Prasad report on the decision.

A recent Federal Court decision has confirmed that liquidators of a corporate trustee are entitled to be remunerated out of the trust assets for costs incurred in monitoring and investigating claims made against the trust.

In the news this week:

A recent decision of the Federal Court of Australia demonstrates the importance of professional insolvency service providers reviewing their work processes to ensure efficiency and cost-effectiveness, and of being diligent in the recording and claiming of costs.

ASIC has just published its annual overview of corporate insolvencies based on statutory reports lodged by external administrators for the 2013-14 financial year.

A recent decision has clarified that receivers are entitled to be indemnified and have a lien for their costs in dealing with goods even where the goods belong to third parties.

In brief: Vietnam's new Law on Bankruptcy will take effect from 1 January 2015, bringing in a number of changes, including a new definition of 'bankruptcy'. Partner Robert Fish (view CV)and Junior Associates Giang Quang Nguyen and Linh Nguyen look at the most significant features of the new law and note what will differ from the current regime.