IBBI forms panel of 400 insolvency professionals to expedite process

An official said that the creation of the panel will help prevent administrative delays in the appointment of IPs

For the first time, the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has prepared a common panel of 400 insolvency professionals (IPs) from those registered with it, according to a report in The Economic Times.

An official said the insolvency regulator will share the list with the arbitrating authority to choose from to oversee cases of resolution from July 1. 17 insolvency professional entities (IPEs) have also been separately registered with the IBBI to supervise resolution, according to the list put out by the regulator on Tuesday.

The official said that the creation of the panel will help prevent administrative delays in the appointment of IPs and speed up the resolution process. The IBBI had asked IPs to submit their expression of interest by June 25 for being a part of the panel earlier this month.

The professionals featured in the list will be eligible to be appointed as interim resolution professionals (IRPs), resolution professionals (RPs), liquidators, and bankruptcy trustees under various sections of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). According to the IBBI, the list will be renewed periodically and the IPs will be appointed between July 1 and December 31. Previously, the insolvency regulator was required to recommend the name of an IP only after receiving a reference from the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in a corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP).

Due to a strong insolvency ecosystem, Delhi had the highest number of selected professionals, with 85, followed by Maharashtra with 64, West Bengal with 36, and Gujarat and Tamil Nadu with 35 each. The list mentions the names of the IPs along with the areas in which they have handled cases. The list will also be given to the Debt Recovery Tribunal.