Phoenix Tech Ltd had carried on business to defraud HMRC by participating in a kind of VAT fraud sometimes called “missing trader intra-community” fraud or “carousel” fraud. It had submitted a VAT return claiming the right to deduct VAT and a repayment in respect of various transactions in the sum of £4.5 million. HMRC denied the input tax claim in relation to the transactions and issued a misdeclaration penalty for £607,387. The company appealed to the First-tier Tribunal (Tax Chamber).

While securitisations offer numerous benefits, there are a number of important points for originators to consider to facilitate entering into a securitisation transaction and to avoid prolonged legal work further down the line. In this article, we briefly discuss essential points that originators should be aware of and discuss with prospective lenders or arrangers prior to structuring a securitisation.

United Arab Emirates enacted Federal Decree Law No. 51 of 2023 on Financial Restructuring and Bankruptcy (the “New Bankruptcy Law”). The New Bankruptcy Law replaced Federal Decree Law No. 9 of 2016 on Bankruptcy and has come into force from May 1, 2024.

The New Bankruptcy Law aims at preserving the stability of the national economy, protect rights of creditors and helping debtors to maintain their business to the extent possible, while improving the restructuring and bankruptcy proceedings in the UAE.

In this guide, we explain what to do when you no longer need a company that has been incorporated or registered in the British Virgin Islands (Company). Assuming the Company is solvent, you have two options: (1) arrange for the Company to be voluntarily liquidated and dissolved (Liquidated); or (2) leave (or apply for) the Company to be administratively struck-off and dissolved (Administratively Dissolved). For the reasons set out below, we usually recommend a Company is Liquidated, rather than Administratively Dissolved.

A debtor's non-exempt assets (and even the debtor's entire business) are commonly sold during the course of a bankruptcy case by the trustee or a chapter 11 debtor-in-possession ("DIP") as a means of augmenting the bankruptcy estate for the benefit of stakeholders or to fund distributions under, or implement, a chapter 11, 12, or 13 plan.

Investors in the Australian market are more sophisticated than ever and – unsurprisingly – so too are the restructuring transactions being promoted by these investors. One such transaction is the credit bid. While not a transaction structure that is formally recognised in Australia, a credit bid is a valuable tool in a financier's playbook that can be implemented to achieve a return where the original financing is unable to be repaid in accordance with its terms.

Credit Bidding

What matters

This article delves into some key considerations for suppliers when dealing with customers where there may be a risk of non-payment or insolvency circumstances and how a supplier can minimise the risk to their cash flow and business.

What matters next

In Mann v. LSQ Funding Group, L.C., 71 F.4th 640 (7th Cir. 2023), reh'g denied, 2023 WL 4684702 (7th Cir. July 21, 2023), the U.S.

Following several years of declining recuperações judiciais filings in Brazil, nearly 600 companies requested court protection in the first six months of 2023, a 52% increase over the same period in 2022.

Total filings remain below the number seen between 2016-2018, when Brazil went through one of its worst economic crises. However, there is a clear separation from the lower number of filings during the pandemic years of 2020-2022, when there was an increase in government support and creditors were more patient.

Swee Siang Boey and Suchitra Kumar, RPC Premier Law

This is an extract from the 2024 edition of GRR's The Asia-Pacific Restructuring Review. The whole publication is available here.

This is an Insight article, written by a selected partner as part of GRR's co-published content. Read more on Insight