THE INSOLVENCY AND BANKRUPTCY CODE, 2016

The Act notified by the Government to consolidate and amend the laws relating to reorganization and insolvency resolution of corporate persons, partnership firms and individuals in a time bound manner for maximization of value of assets of such persons, to promote entrepreneurship, availability of credit and balance the interests of all the stakeholders including alteration in the order of priority of payment of Government dues and to establish an Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India, and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto.

This Act extends to the whole of India, provided that Part III of this Code shall not extend to the State of Jammu and Kashmir.

The fundamental features of the Code is that it allows creditors to assess the viability of a debtor as a business decision, and agree upon a plan for its revival or a speedy liquidation. The Code creates a new institutional framework, consisting of a regulator, insolvency professionals, information utilities and adjudicatory mechanisms, that will facilitate a formal and time bound insolvency resolution process and liquidation.

India currently ranks 136 out of 189 countries in the World Bank’s index on the ease of resolving insolvencies. It aims at early identification of financial failure and maximizing the asset value of insolvent firms. The Code also has provisions to address cross border insolvency through bilateral agreements and reciprocal arrangements with other countries.

The unified regime envisages a structured and time-bound process for insolvency resolution and liquidation, which should significantly improve debt recovery rates and revitalize the ailing Indian corporate bond markets.

For individuals and unlimited partnerships, the Code applies in all cases where the minimum default amount is INR 1000 (USD 15) and above (the Government May later revise the minimum amount of default to a higher threshold). The Code envisages two distinct processes in case of insolvencies: automatic fresh start and insolvency resolution.

Insolvency and Bankruptcy board is an independent body established for the administration and governance of Insolvency & bankruptcy Law; and Information Utilities as a depository of financial information.