Rainbow Papers: The Judgment

In State Tax Officer (1) v. Rainbow Papers Ltd., 2022 SCC OnLine SC 1162 ("Rainbow Papers"), the Supreme Court dealt with the question as to whether the provisions of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, ("IBC") (specifically Section 53) overrides Section 48 of the Gujarat Value Added Tax Act, 2003 ("GVAT Act").

Section 48 of the GVAT Act provides as follows.

Section 48. Tax to be first charge on property:

In a recent decision in the case of Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd. v. HDFC Bank Ltd. and Another, the Supreme Court of India (“Supreme Court”) has held that the rents receivable by a borrower which was assigned to a lender of a lease rental discounting facility would not be treated as an asset of the borrower, and thus fall outside the purview of the asset and security freeze order of the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (“NCLAT”).

Brief Facts

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).

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (New Delhi Bench) (“NCLAT”) in two recent judgments passed in Raiyan Hotels and Resorts Pvt. Ltd. vs. Unrivalled Projects Pvt. Ltd. [Company Appeal (AT) (Insolvency) No. 1071 of 2023] and Aryan Mining & Trading Corpn Pvt. Ltd. vs Kail limited and Anr. [Company Appeal (AT) (Insolvency) No.

The original version of this article was first published in the Trilegal Quarterly Roundup 

Key Developments

1. Supreme Court clarifies that under Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, creditors hold priority over government dues

Recently, in the case of Vishal Chelani & Ors. v. Debashis Nanda (Civil Appeal No. 3806 of 2023), India’s Supreme Court (SC) ruled on the interface of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC) with the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 (RERA).

Factual background

Introduction

INTRODUCTION: 

In the recent case of Vistra ITCL (India) Limited & Ors. v. Mr. Dinkar Venkatasubramanian & Anr., the Supreme Court re-affirmed the legal position that persons who are merely beneficiaries of security by a corporate debtor do not qualify as financial creditors in the corporate insolvency resolution process (“CIRP”) of the corporate debtor. However, the Supreme Court also held that a resolution plan cannot dilute the security interest provided by the corporate debtor in favour of such beneficiaries.

Brief Facts

October, 2023 For Private Circulation - Educational & Informational Purpose Only A BRIEFING ON LEGAL MATTERS OF CURRENT INTEREST KEY HIGHLIGHTS * Supreme Court: Dissenting opinion of an arbitrator cannot be treated as an award if the majority award is set aside. * Delhi High Court: When there are two interconnected agreements with conflicting arbitration clauses, the clause contained in the main agreement should be given primacy. * Supreme Court: Admission of claims after the resolution plan has been accepted by CoC would result in making CIRP prolonged and inefficacious.