The government is working on amending the insolvency law, including the provision related to bidders requiring CCI approval for resolution plans involving combinations before they approach the Committee of Creditors, according to a senior official.
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) provides for a market-linked and time-bound resolution of stressed assets, and under the framework the Committee of Creditors (CoC) is a key element.
As part of further improving the insolvency ecosystem, as well as reducing the resolution timelines, the corporate affairs ministry has been working on amending the IBC.
Among other provisions, amendments are likely in Section 31 (4) of the IBC, which requires bidders to seek approval from the Competition Commission of India (CCI) before submitting their resolution plans to the CoC, aimed at easing the burden on the CCI.
According to this section, for resolution plans that have a provision for combination, as referred to in section 5 of the Competition Act, 2002 (12 of 2003), the resolution applicant shall obtain the approval of the CCI under that Act before the approval of the resolution plan by the CoC.
The ministry has made six amendments to the IBC and at least 122 amendments in regulations since the inception of the code. A total of 1,119 cases have been resolved through the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP), leading to a recovery of about ₹3.58 lakh crore to the creditors till December 31, 2024.