On 4 June 2020, a draft of The Insolvency Act 1986 (HMRC Debts: Priority on Insolvency) Regulations 2020 was provided to the Public Bill Committee. The Regulations are due to come into force on 1 December 2020.
The draft Regulations set out the debts due to HMRC that will have ‘secondary’ preferential status in insolvencies from 1 December 2020. They are debts in respect of PAYE income tax, employee NICs, construction industry scheme deductions and student loan repayments. VAT debts are to be treated in the same way, though are not covered by these draft Regulations.
In But Ka Chon v Interactive Brokers LLC [2019] HKCA 873, the Hong Kong Court of Appeal upheld a lower court's decision to reject an application to set aside a statutory demand. The appellant had argued (among other things) that an arbitration clause in his agreement with the respondent required their dispute to be referred to arbitration.
ADVISORY | DISPUTES | TRANSACTIONS “Gagging orders”: an office holder’s secret weapon December 2016 Introduction Practitioners are fully aware of the extensive powers available under ss 235 and 236 of the Insolvency Act 1986 (IA 1986) allowing administrators and liquidators as office holders (OHs) to require individuals and organisations to disgorge information.
In Smailes and another v McNally and another[i]the High Court refused the claimant's application for relief from sanctions, finding the claimant's failure in respect of its disclosure obligations under the relevant provisions of the Civil Procedure Rules (CPR 31) amounted to a significant and serious breach of an "unless order".
The recent Court of Appeal decision in Rawlinson and Hunter Trustees SA & others v Akers & another [2014] serves to emphasise that third party reports commissioned by liquidators to enable them to consider whether litigation should be commenced in order to make recoveries for the benefit of creditors will not always attract litigation privilege.
There remains much economic uncertainty ahead and it seems that insolvency practices are likely to continue to remain important drivers in accountancy firms. However, insolvency practitioners are facing increased regulation and public scrutiny. They need to remain on top of their game to navigate safely through stormy waters, as Ross Goodrich reports.
Background
The draft Legislative Reform (Insolvency) (Miscellaneous Provisions) Order 2009 has now been published detailing the proposed changes to the Insolvency Act 1986. The aim of the changes is to reduce costs and the administrative burden on users of the legislation and subsequently benefi t the creditors of insolvent companies and individuals through more fl exible procedures and increased dividends.
随着新冠肺炎疫情在全球范围内持续引发财务不确定性，我们认为是时候简要介绍英国法适用于陷入财务困境的公司的各种公司破产程序。下文将依次讨论管理程序 (administration)、接管程序 (administrative receivership)、公司自愿安排 (company voluntary arrangement)、债务偿还安排 (schemes of arrangement) 和破产清算 (liquidation)。此外，还将简述董事职责、有关破产中资产分配的规则以及在破产中可撤销或“可审查”的交易。
在本专业概要发文之前，英国商务、能源与产业战略部于2020年3月28日发布公告，旨在帮助处于破产拯救或重整程序中的公司继续开展交易，避免破产。简言之，英国商务大臣宣布：
在与向英国供货的国际公司合作的过程中，我们发现了一些常见问题。在上一篇文章中，我们研究了客户可能面临的破产程序类型。在“五行”系列第四篇文章中，我们围绕“火”元素来说明破产执业者在进入破产程序时拥有的重大权力：调查不当行为，并将资产收回统一偿还债权人。
火：破产执业者对债权人欺诈性交易的重大权力
破产执业者(不论是清算人或管理人)可以向法院申请撤销在公司进入破产程序前进行的特定交易。通过这种方式，可以收回资产或资金，统一向债权人偿付。下列情形属于“先前的”或“可审查”的交易：
- 公司的资产或财产被低价出售；
- 公司在进入破产程序前给予某债权人优先权，使其处于比其他债权人更有利的地位；
- 公司订立了敲诈性信贷交易（交易条款有严重的敲诈性）；
- 公司设立了无效浮动抵押，即为已发放的贷款或已提供的货物及服务的成本提供担保；
- 公司订立的交易具有欺诈债权人的明确目的，即：使公司的资产脱离破产执业者和债权人的控制范围。
不同类型的可审查交易有不同的时间要求。例如，低价出售必须发生在公司进入破产程序前的两年内。
In our work with international companies supplying goods to the UK, we see a number of common issues arising regularly. In our previous articles, we explained what happens if a UK customer hits financial difficulties and the powers of insolvency practitioners. In this last of five articles based on the five elements of the Wu Xing, we take the theme of Earth and explain the options to get paid by an insolvent customer, completing the business as usual cycle of supply and payment and thereby restoring balance to your business.