The court can order to appoint a qualified person to fill vacant position if the office of the restructuring manager or liquidator falls vacant due to suspension or cancellation of license by court. (s 67)
The court fixes the remuneration of inquiry official, restructuring manager or liquidator if it can’t be fixed by the meeting of creditors from time to time. (s 68)
The court has the power to remove a restructuring manager or liquidator if they fail to execute duties prescribed or if their conduct is found to be contrary to the Act. However, the latter is given the chance to defend himself. (s 70)
The court can inquire a restructuring manager or liquidator for any action done or taken by him or her and in such an event, the latter has to reply promptly. (s 71)
2. Introduction
being insolvent” means a state of being unable, or appearing to be unable, to
pay any or all of the debts due and payable to or payable in the future to
creditors or a situation where the amount of liabilities of a company exceeds the
value of the assets. Section 2(b)
“liquidation of company” means a situation where the registration of a company
is canceled by fulfilling the procedures referred to in this Act. Section 2(d)
3. Insolvency Proceedings
Application by any of the stakeholder
Company itself which has become insolvent
Creditor (10%)
Shareholder (5%) – prior permission from the court to make application
Debenture holder (5%)- permission from the court to make application
Liquidator appointed by the company
Authorized Body and regulator (for financial institution- NRB, for insurance –Insurance board.
Application to be accompanied by necessary documents
4. Registration of application at the court
Application to the court
Appoint a date of hearing within 15 days
Gives chance to revoke application (7 days)
Court may ask concerned body to submit statement of reason
Court gives formal notice in national daily newspaper at least twice
5. Hearing and Order by the court
Court may accept or dismiss the application
If accepted, court gives order to appoint inquiry officer
IO makes a detail inquiry to check
-whether the company has been insolvent or not
- whether its financial situation can be improved through restructure
- whether it’s lost cause and the company should be liquidated
IO convenes meeting of creditor
IO submits a report to the court
6. Court gives order within 7 days of the receipt of IO Report to liquidate, restructure, to wait for
specific period if the company can be improved without liquidation, to make further inquiry
7. Restructuring of company
Restructuring scheme shall be prepared by restructuring manager in written form.
Scheme contain :to capitalize debt and alter capital structure , selling assets , to amalgamate the
company , to change the management and other act which the Court considers appropriate to
restructure the company.
Meeting of creditor is called in order to discuss the details of restructuring program and adopt the
resolution (with or without amendment or to liquidate the company).
8. Contd…
Restructuring report is submitted by the restructuring manager to the court in
order to implement restructuring program so that company is rescued from
insolvency within time period (sec.25)
failure to submit details of restructuring program court may invalidate order of
restructuring and ordered for liquidation of the company .
Creditors who does not agreed with the proposal of restructuring program can
make an application of claim and objection with reasonable grounds.
If approved the proposal is binding to all creditors ,directors and shareholders
9. Contd…
Does not bind to secured creditor unless the order of court or they have agreed to
program.
not to affect the right of owner of property or lessor unless the order of court
the court can issue orders to secured creditors, the lessor and owners of the
property used by the company, if it is proved that the restructuring program will
fail if the secured creditors or lessor of the property enforce their security or take
back the leased property.
Restructuring manager may exercise the power to operate the company , act as an
agent of the company and has power to borrow loan
10. Contd…
Alteration and amendment of restructuring program can be made by approval of
creditors and court.
Termination of program if company fails to implement it.
If court issues an order of liquidation.
11. Liquidation
Liquidation v. restructure
Court order and appointing a liquidator
Liquidator exercises of powers in an attempt to fulfill his duties
Liquidator invites debt claims
Liquidator chairs creditors meeting
12. Contd…
Can take more loans from the creditors
Report preparation (including recommendation)
Abandonment of liquidation and pursuit Restructuring
Court order
Deregistration of the company
13. Claims of Creditors ( Chapter - 6 )
Section 48 - Creditors to submit claims.
A creditor of the company which has become insolvent shall submit a
claim for the loan due and outstanding or payable.
company to him or her,
in the prescribed format
within the time limit specified by the restructuring manager or
liquidator.
the creditor shall also submit the proof and evidence substantiating
such claim.
The restructuring manager or liquidator shall examine the submitted
proofs or evidences.
14. 49. Claim for interest:
Where any company which has become insolvent has borrowed a loan on the condition of paying interest
According to the agreement entered into at the time of borrowing such loan.
Provided that no interest may be claimed for the period after the date of issue
by the Court of an order to liquidate the company,
implement the restructuring program of the company.
15. 50. Claims on undetermined or contingent liability:
any claim on any liability of an undetermined value
which has resulted from any loss caused by the company,
or from any compensation to be paid by the company to anyone as a result of
failure to comply with any contract
or for having violated any contract, or from any other action,
which creates a civil obligation, or any claim on any contingent obligation of the
company
pursuant to Sub-section (1) of Section 48.
16. restructuring manager or liquidator shall either accept or reject such claim pursuant to Sub-section (3) of
Section 48
Where such claim is accepted pursuant to Sub-section (2), the restructuring manager or liquidator shall also
determine the estimated value of such claim.
the restructuring manager or liquidator may make an application to the Court to have the value of such
determined;
and where an petition is so made, the Court shall determine the estimated value of such claim.
Any person who is not satisfied with the decision to reject the claim
may make a complaint to the Court within fifteen days from the date of receipt of the notice thereof.
17. 51. Immature claims: The restructuring manager or liquidator may make
prescribed exemption from the debt claims relating to immature debts made
against the company.
52. Claims involving foreign exchange: Any claims made in relation to any
debt or other liability in a foreign currency under this Act shall be settled by
calculating the value in the Nepali currency
according to the exchange rate fixed by the Nepal Rastra Bank for the day
on which an application is made
to the Court for the liquidation, insolvency of the company or its
restructuring.
18. 53. Adjustment of debts: any other transaction between a company which has become insolvent and any
creditor who makes a debt claim against the company, the debt or such debt claim or transaction shall be
adjusted as follows:
To determine the amount due to be paid by one party to the other party;
(b) To deduct the amount payable by one party to the other party from the amount determined
To fix only the amount that remains after making deduction pursuant to Clause (b) as the claim of debt
by the company.
The purposes of this Section, the expression "company which has become insolvent" shall mean a company in
relation to application has been filed in the Court for the restructuring or liquidation of that company.
19. 54. Right of secured creditor to make claim:
A secured creditor may make a debt claim against the company at any time;
and the restructuring manager or liquidator may accept or reject that claim.
The amount to be claimed pursuant to Sub-section (1) shall be limited to the
difference between the amount received from the property
according to its market value and the amount payable by the company to the
secured creditor.
Where there arises a dispute between the secured creditor and the company
which has become insolvent in relation
to the differencebetween the value of the secured property and the amount
outstanding and payable
20. Mode of Payment
55. Shareholder’s claim: Where any creditor who is also a shareholder of a company which has become
insolvent makes a claim against the company,
and where that creditor has not paid any amount due on his or her share
and where the time has already matured to pay such amount
56. Deemed to be creditor if debt is accepted:
A person should acquire status of creditor pursuant to Subsection (1)
shall also acquire the right to participate in a meeting of creditors,
exercise the voting right to the extent of the accepted debt claim
and receive payment of the amount of debt under this Act.
21. 57. Order of settlement of liabilities:
While settling the liabilities of a company which is being liquidated under this Act,
the liquidator shall make payment of liabilities from the available funds according
according to the following order of priority:
All expenses associated with the functions discharged by the interim administrator
Other amounts to be settled pursuant to Chapter-2;
All expenses associated with the functions discharged by the inquiry officer
All expenses associated with the functions discharged by the restructuring
All debts of the company borrowed during the period of investigation of the
insolvency proceedings;
All debts of the company borrowed during the period of the restructuring
of the company;
22. (h) Wages and remuneration due and payable to the workers or employees of the company at the time of the issue of
the order
(i) Amounts payable to the workers or employees of the company in consideration of home leave, sick leave, gratuity
and
employee provident fund, if any, at the time of the issue of the order under this Act to liquidate or restructure the
company;
Provided that no director of the company shall be entitled to such amount.
(j) All other amounts in consideration of debt claims accepted by
the liquidator.
Every liability falling in the order of priority referred to in Subsection (1) shall be treated equally; and all liabilities
falling in such order shall be settled fully.
Provided that if such liabilities cannot be settled fully, they shall be settled proportionately.
23. Where any liability of the company is insured, the amount receivable under such
insurance contract shall be paid to that person who is entitled to it.
Where the liabilities mentioned in Sub-section (1), (2) or (3) are settled fully,
the surplus shall be used by the liquidator to pay interest payable on debts from
the date of the order issued to liquidate
or restructure the company to the date of acceptance of the debt claim.
The amount remaining after such payment shall be distributed among the preference
shareholders,
and the remaining amount shall be distributed among the other shareholders
proportionately.
58. Mode of settling liabilities: While settling the liabilities of the creditors pursuant
this Chapter, the liquidator may do so at one time or at different times
24. Voidable Transactions
Voidable transactions: (1) Where any company has become insolvent, the following
transactions shall be void:
(a) Preferential transactions carried on in advance of six months immediately preceding the
commencement of the insolvency proceedings or within the period of six months after the
commencement of the proceedings;
(b) Preferential transactions carried on with the associated persons of the company in
advance of one year immediately preceding
the commencement of the insolvency proceedings or within the period of one year after
the commencement of the proceedings;
"Preferential transactions" shall mean any transactions done or entered into with a provision
for payment of amount that exceeds the payment which any creditor of the company other
than a secured creditor would have been entitled to get if the creditor had made a claim
against the company at the time of its liquidation.
25. Any under-valued transactions have been carried on in advance of one year immediately preceding the
commencement of the
insolvency proceedings or within the period of one year after the commencement of the proceedings and
the company has become insolvent as a consequence of such transaction.
"Under-valued transactions" shall mean any transactions in relation to which the company has received
value that is lower than the prevailing market value
All fraudulent transactions carried on in advance of two years immediately preceding the commencement of
the insolvency proceedings or within the period of two years after the commencement of the
26. The liquidator shall make an application to the Court to have the transactions
the liquidator shall prove that the company was insolvent when such transactions were carried on or the
company has become insolvent by the reason of such transactions.
Where any associated person of the company is found involved in the proceeding carried out in
relation to void any voidable transactions,
it shall be presumed that the company was insolvent when such transactions
were carried on or the company has become insolvent by the reason of such
transactions.
27. 60. To defend voidable transactions: The associated person may prove
the following matters in his or her defense: (a) That the company was not
insolvent when the transactions were carried on;
(b) That he or she has not derived any benefit from the transactions;
61. Powers of the Court in relation to voidable transactions:
Where the Court is satisfied that any transaction is voidable, the Court may
issue orders as follows:
To order the concerned person to pay to the liquidator some or all of the
amounts paid by the company
To order the concerned person to hand over to the liquidator the asset so
transacted or an amount equivalent
28. The debt obtained by the company through such transaction, or the collateral or
guarantee furnished by the company for that debt be fully or partly remitted or
released;
(2) The Court may also issue any such other additional order any
may be required to enforce the order issued pursuant to Sub-section (1).
62.Right to claim amount paid in consideration of preferential transaction:
Any creditor who pays any amount to the liquidator in relation to any preferential
transaction made with the company,
according to the order of the Court or for any other reason, may make a claim for
that amount
as a debt claim against the company in liquidation.
29. Insolvency Practice, and Regulation and
Administration
Prohibits the non bearer of license from being appointed as inquiry officer, restructuring
manager or liquidator to operate insolvency practice and if appointed, appointment is
ipso facto void. (s 63)
The insolvency Administration Office functions as a regulatory body and is responsible for
issuance and renewal of license.
Only a Nepali citizen not less than age of 30 competent to carry the insolvency practice
who is a member of a prescribed professional association and is at least a graduate in
commercial law, commerce, management, accounts or similar discipline from a
recognized university can qualify for license.
Court has the power to suspend or cancel the license. (s 66)
30. Contd…
The court can order to appoint a qualified person to fill vacant position if the office of the
restructuring manager or liquidator falls vacant due to suspension or cancellation of
license by court. (s 67)
The court fixes the remuneration of inquiry official, restructuring manager or liquidator if
it can’t be fixed by the meeting of creditors from time to time. (s 68)
The court has the power to remove a restructuring manager or liquidator if they fail to
execute duties prescribed or if their conduct is found to be contrary to the Act. However,
the latter is given the chance to defend himself. (s 70)
The court can inquire a restructuring manager or liquidator for any action done or taken
by him or her and in such an event, the latter has to reply promptly. (s 71)
31. Misc.
The following acts are considered as offences and punishment is provided. (S.72)
Non submission of report on the financial condition and
transaction of the company to the court by the person holding the
office of director of the company
Acting as an insolvency practitioner without obtaining license
Non disclosure of insolvency status of the company by the director
Failure of insolvency practitioner to discharge the functions laid
down by the Act in good faith
Committing any act of fraud or forgery against, or cheating or
misleading the company or its creditors by director or employee or
shareholder or other person of a company
32. Contd.
The liquidator, Office or concerned party can file a case against any person who appears
to have committed an offense under the Act. (s 73)
The party making an appeal has to recover the expenses incurred by the other party if
the court of appeal affirms the decision of lower court. {s 74(1)}
The former might have to compensate for actual loss or damage borne by the company,
shareholders or creditors if the prolongation of proceeding is caused as a result of any
action instituted by him. {s 74(2)}
The Office is provided with the power to frame necessary manuals in order to facilitate
the insolvency proceedings. (s 75)
The issues not affected due to the inoperativeness of the Insolvency Ordinance, 2062 is
enlisted. (s 77)