Insolvency law amendments to ensure greater timeliness: Nirmala Sitharaman

Amendments to insolvency law are aimed at ensuring greater timeliness for resolution process, which has to be completed in 330 days, and changes are to made in seven sections of the law, Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Thursday.

Moving the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill, 2019 for passage in Lok Sabha, she said the changes would also bring in more clarity on various provisions, including time-bound disposal at the application stage for resolution plan and treatment of financial creditors.

As many as seven sections of the Code are to be amended.

Once the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) begins, it has to be completed in 330 days, including litigation stages and judicial process, the minister said citing the proposed amendments.

Among others, the approved resolution plan would be binding on central and state governments as well as various statutory authorities.

Sitharaman said proposed amendments also respond to issues pertaining to financial creditors in the wake of a recent ruling with respect to financial and operational creditors.

Recently, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) had ruled in the Essar Steel Ltd's case that the Committee of Creditors (CoC) had no role in the distribution of claims and brought lenders (financial creditors) and vendors (operational creditors) on par.

Sitharaman quoted a Supreme Court judgement to say that with the implementation of the Code, there is no longer a defaulter's paradise.

The bill was passed by Rajya Sabha on Monday.

Participating in the debate, Gaurav Gogoi (Congress) said the performance of the Insolvency Bankruptcy Code has been a mixed bag.

Gogoi also raised a concern about the liquidation of companies, especially the ones in the real estate sector that also puts homebuyers' life savings at risk.

Sanjay Jaiswal (BJP) said the IBC has improved the Ease of Doing Business.

M Srinivasulu Reddy (YSR Congress) referred to the death of Cafe Coffee Day founder V G Siddhartha and said industries are sick because of business failures.

He said while the government is working towards 'Ease of Doing Business', there is an increase in 'Difficulties in Doing Business'.

There is a fear psychosis in the minds of businesses which has to be addressed.

"Asses and horses are in the same stable," Reddy said, noting that the government is looking at honest and dishonest business through the same prism.

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