IBC Resolution Can Now Be Completed In Just 180 Days After Cabinet Approved New Appointments, Says NCLT Head

Signalling an end to delays in the resolution of bankrupt and insolvent companies, NCLT President Justice M.M. Kumar on Saturday (4 May) said that the process would now be completed ahead of schedule due to increased manpower, reports IANS.

"Now that our strength has increased, we may even be able to complete the process (IBC) within 180 days against the current average 300 days," said Kumar at an Assocham event.

The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) recently approved the appointment of 32 new members to the understaffed National Company Law Tribunals NCLT).

Fourteen judicial and 18 technical members have been appointed in total, who will be serving the NCLTs for a term of three years or till attaining the age of 65 years, whichever is earlier.

While the resolution of bad loans through the NCLT route has helped banks to offload their non-performing assets (NPAs), the delay in getting the cases through has caused significant losses.

A report in The Hindu Business Line pegged the damages at Rs 25,000 crore in interest for over Rs 2 lakh crore loans from top-10 defaulters.

Swarajya Editorial Director R Jagannathan had written in May (2018) about how delays in the insolvency process can pose a real threat to the IBC-led loan recovery program. "If there is one real threat to the success of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), it is death by delay", he said.