CoC resolution plan can't be modified or withdrawn: Supreme Court

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) has come under a lot of scrutiny of late, with banks recovering very little money in a few cases. The latest reaction came from the Supreme Court, which on Monday said once the committee of creditors (CoC) submits a resolution plan for an asset, it cannot be modified or withdrawn by the resolution applicant. It also said the 330-day deadline for resolution of assets should be strictly adhered to. 

It said that recently, the parliamentary standing committee on finance suggested that there should be a benchmark for the quantum of haircuts comparable to global standards. Experts, including the RBI governor, have also pointed to the delay in resolving cases.  

According to a report by CARE Ratings, of the 1,682 ongoing corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRPs), the completion process for 75 per cent has been delayed by more than 270 days in June 2021.

Also, around 13,170 insolvency cases involving claims of Rs 9.2 trillion are awaiting resolution before the NCLT and about 71 per cent of the cases have been pending for over 180 days.

However, the average recovery from bad assets has increased considerably in the IBC compared to Lok Adalats, Debt Recovery Tribunals (DRTs), and the SARFAESI Act. The overall recovery rate till Q4FY21 improved to 39.3 per cent. But the recovery for Q1FY22 has dipped to 25.5 per cent, reducing the cumulative rate to 36 per cent.

The IBC has seen higher acceptance in the last ten quarters as maximum cases were admitted during this time. But there was a slowdown in cases in Q1FY22 (126 cases) compared with approximately 250 cases admitted in Q4FY21.

So far, almost 30 per cent of the admitted cases have ended in liquidation. Also, 10 per cent of the cases have been withdrawn under Section 12 A of IBC and only 9 per cent of the total cases have ended in approval of resolution plans. But industry insiders say IBC has at least managed to nudge the banks to recognise bad assets in time and instill a strong credit and repayment culture by both banks and borrowers.