New Delhi: The Parliament on Tuesday passed the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Bill, 2017, which will replace the ordinance promulgated in November to prevent unscrupulous persons from misusing or vitiating the provisions of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).
Replying to a debate on the bill in Rajya Sabha, Union finance minister Arun Jaitley said the government has entered into an unchartered territory as far as bankruptcy and insolvency code is concerned and would continue to modify the law dealing with the issue.
He said the government has been encountering situations which were not anticipated earlier and assured the House that it would continue to take corrective action.
The Upper House later passed the bill with a voice vote. The bill was passed by the Lok Sabha last week. Earlier, while participating in the debate many opposition members asked the government to identify willful defaulters of bank loans. “Insolvency and bankruptcy is an area in which it is only in the recent years that we have chartered into. It is a learning experience,” said Mr Jaitley. As per the bill, the ineligible persons or entities will include undischarged insolvent, wilful defaulter and those whose accounts have been classified as non-performing asset. These persons, however, can become “eligible to submit a resolution plan” if they clear all the overdue amounts with interest.
