Against the backdrop of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code becoming operational from Thursday ICSI’s Insolvency Professionals Agency (IPA) has started enrolling insolvency professional.
“As of now, we have already recommended and registered three company secretaries and four advocates as insolvency professionals in a short time of 48 hours since we obtained our registration certificate”, said Institute of Company Secretaries of India President Mamta Binani.
“As much as over Rs 4,00000 crore is stuck for want of resolution of disputes between the creditor and the debtor in case of corporate and individual insolvencies. Now cases will have to be solved in a particular time period, giving not only much needed relief to the creditor and the debtor in case of corporate and individual insolvencies but also opening great opportunity for insolvency professional,” added Binani.
Union Finance and Corporate Affairs Minister Arun Jaitley gave registration certificate to ICSI IPA to work as an Insolvency Professional Agency (IPA) on 28 November
As a frontline regulator for insolvency professionals, ICSI IPA is now enrolling professional members, laying down standards of professional conduct for them and monitors their performance. It will also redress the grievances of consumers against its members.
“A majority of the board members of the professional agency, including the chairman, should be independent directors. The board will soon appoint a chairman. In the next 20 days, we will have the first meeting of the agency,” said Binani.
“ Though it will be operational in Delhi, it will take some more time to extend to cities like Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata,” added Binani when asked about availabily of services across India.
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has been set up under the Code that seeks to consolidate and amend laws relating to reorganisation as well as insolvency resolution of corporate persons, partnership firms and individuals in a time-bound manner.
With the Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) becoming redundant, corporate insolvencies will now be dealt by the National Company law Tribunal and proprietorship and partnership insolvencies by the Debt Recovery Tribunal.
A firm registered under Section 8 of the Companies Act, 2013 -- having a minimum net worth of Rs 10 crore and a paid-up capital of Rs 5 crore -- will be eligible to be an insolvency professional agency.