Work is on to amend IBC to address cross-border insolvency: M S Sahoo

MUMBAI: Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India chairman M S Sahoo on Saturday said work is on to amend the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 that will address cross-border insolvency. On Thursday, Sahoo had said the government is keen to introduce a globally accepted and well-recognised cross-border insolvency framework, which will make India an attractive investment destination, given the increased predictability and certainty of the insolvency process.

“There is proposal to amend the IBC to provide for such cases like cross border insolvency and to address some of the problems that have come up, but I will not be able to say which are these,” Sahoo told reporters here on the sidelines of ‘Roadshow on Competition Law and Practice’ organised by CII here.

The government had on November 15, notified Section 227 of IBC to deal with systemically important financial service providers with over Rs 500 crore assets, excluding banks for bankruptcy and empowered the RBI to do so.

Meanwhile, talking about challenges expected in DHFL being sent to the National Company Law Tribunal by the RBI, Sahoo said: “We should not be afraid of any challenges…. What is required is that willingness to absorb the challenges and address them as quickly as you can….New problems can come up but as when these problems come up it will be addressed at the earliest”.

When IBC came in 2016, everything was new, and there was no insolvency professional, IBBI or all members of the NCLT, everything was created afresh, but it worked, he added.

The Reserve Bank of India on Friday had sent the troubled mortgage lender Dewan Housing Finance (DHFL) for bankruptcy proceedings, making it the first financial services player to go to the NCLT for debt resolution.

“RBI today (Friday) filed an application for initiation of corporate insolvency resolution process (with the NCLT Mumbai) against DHFL under Section 227 of the insolvency and bankruptcy code,” the apex court said in a statement.

Speaking at the event, Competition Commission of India chairman Ashok Kumar Gupta said CCI has constituted Competition Law Review Committee to study the existing framework to further strengthen it to inter-alia meet new economic challenges.

The committee has submitted its report and there will be progressive amendments to the law very soon, he said.

“The introduction of Green Channel is to enable fast- paced regulatory approvals of mergers and acquisitions to ensure ease of doing business,” Gupta added.