1. Amendment under Income Tax Act, 1961

In the Union Budget 2020-21, amendment has been proposed to be made in Section 140 and Section 288 of Income Tax Act, 1961 in order to give power to the Interim Resolution Professional/Resolution Professional to file Returns or appear before the authorities including Appellate Authority in case of the Corporate Debtor which is in Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process.

2. Ministry of Corporate Affairs prescribed procedure for filing of forms in the Registry (MCA-21) by IRP/RP/Liquidator appointed under I&B 2016.

The Ministry of Corporate Affairs vide its General Circular No. 08/2020 dated 06.03.2020 which was in suppression of the earlier Circular No. 4/2020 dated 17.02.2020 provided the clarification as well as procedure for filing the needful e-form(s) with Digital Signature Certificate of Insolvency Resolution Professional (IRP) or Resolution Professional (RP) or Liquidator appointed under I&B 2016 w.r.t any Corporate Debtor which is under Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP).

  1. The IRP/RP/Liquidator would have to first file the order of Ld Adjudicating Authority (NCLT), vide which the order w.r.t initiation of CIRP/Liquidation process has been initiated and IRP/RP/Liquidator as the case may be, have been appointed in e-form INC-28. The designation which the IRP/RP/ Liquidator has to choose while affixing his/her designation is "CEO" in declaration box and choose "others" from the Dropdown Menu. Here, it has been clarified that the designation of "CEO" is only for limited purposes of filing of the forms and not for any other purposes and such use of designation of "CEO" shall in no way affect his legal status as IRP/RP/Liquidator.
  2. Change in status of the Corporate Debtor to CIRP/Liquidation or CIRP/Liquidation to "Active" shall be effected on the basis of the formal change request form submitted by Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) to e-governance Cell, MCA (HQ).
  3. All filings of e-forms including AOC-4 and MGT-7 shall be filed through e-from GNL-2 by way of attachments till the Corporate Debtor is under CIRP. In the existing field No. 3 of Form no. GNL-2, IRP/RP/Liquidator will choose radio button "Filing under IBC". The said forms will be submitted with "normal fee" till the company remains under CIRP. For each and every such document, separate GLN-2 shall be filed by IRP/RP.
  4. Against date of event and Board Resolution in INC-28 and GNL-2, date of order of Ld' Adjudicating Authority (NCLT)/Hon'ble Appellate Authority (NCLAT)/Court as applicable may be mentioned.

The IRP/RP in case of Corporate Debtor(s) where the CIRP has been initiated prior to the date of this present circular i.e. General Circular No. 8/2020 dated 06.03.2020, are required to file the e-form INC-28 with the concerned orders for such corporate debtors and thereafter shall proceed to file the other documents/ fact/information as required under the Companies Act, Act 2013 and Rules thereunder through e-form GLN-2.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.