Read Editorial with D2G – Ep 530
Easing the pain
READ BEFORE YOU PROCEED: D2G wears no responsibility of the views published here by the respective Author. This Editorial is used here for Study Purpose. Students are advised to learn the word-meaning, The Art of Writing Skills and understand the crux of this Editorial.
Meanings are given in BOLD
The central government has passed an ordinance (a rule or a law made by a government or somebody in a position of authority) to amend the Insolvency (Insolvency is a state of financial distress in which a business or person is unable to pay their bills) and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). In line with recommendations of the sub-committee of the Insolvency Law Committee (ILC), it provides for a pre-pack resolution scheme for micro, small and medium enterprises.
Under the new arrangement, the debtors (A debtor is a company or individual who owes money) will be allowed to propose a resolution plan before the firm enters bankruptcy proceedings, while retaining (to keep or continue to have something; not to lose) control of the company. The rationale (the principles or reasons which explain a particular decision, course of action, belief, etc) for such an arrangement is straightforward.
First, this option will help ease the resolution process of MSMEs, as, considering that there aren’t enough buyers for stressed assets in the economy in the first place, not allowing existing promoters the option of participating in the resolution process would lead to capital destruction. Second, the scheme will not only bring down the costs associated with the resolution process, but may also lead to faster resolution of cases, as the frivolous (not serious; silly) litigation (the process of taking legal action in a court of law) brought by defaulting promoters, in hopes of clinging (to hold on tightly to somebody/something) on to their firms, will be reduced.
Broadly, the pre-pack scheme is an arrangement wherein the corporate debtor proposes a resolution plan to the secured creditors before the initiation of corporate insolvency resolution procedure (CIRP). During this process, the company will continue to be controlled by the existing management rather than coming under the control of the resolution professional — considered to be a less disruptive (causing or tending to cause disruption) process.
The resolution plan can then be taken for approval by the secured creditors to the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), provided it is approved by 66 per cent of them. The scheme also takes into consideration the issue of operational creditors. Any proposed resolution plan that does not offer full recovery of claims of operational creditors (a person or company to whom money is owing) will face a challenge — the resolution professional can allow others to submit resolution plans to compete (strive to gain or win something by defeating or establishing superiority over others) with the corporate debtors.
The committee of creditors has the option of choosing an alternative resolution plan if it is better than the “base” plan offered by the corporate debtor. In line with the time-bound resolution process envisaged (contemplate or conceive of as a possibility or a desirable future event) under the IBC, the pre-pack scheme also prescribes timelines. It allows for 120 days for the entire process — 90 days for the submission of the resolution plans, and 30 days for the NCLT to improve them.
Considering that data from the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) shows that of the 1,717 cases currently undergoing the resolution process, 1,481 (86.3 per cent) have been going on for more than 270 days (in comparison, the IBC had initially envisaged that the resolution process must be completed within 270 days from the date of the insolvency proceedings commencing, which was later extended to 330 days), this pre-pack arrangement, by reducing the number of cases clogging (block or become blocked with an accumulation of thick, wet matter) the system, could unburden (relieve (someone) of something that is causing them anxiety or distress) the tribunals (a court of justice), leading to a swifter disposal of the other cases.
