SC refers the matter with dues over Rs. 1 lakh to NCLAT for accurate determination of respondent’s claim

Case Details: Compack Enterprises India (P.) Ltd. v. Jitendra Impex (P.) Ltd. - [2023] 149 taxmann.com 417 (SC)

Judiciary and Counsel Details

• • A.S. Bopanna & Dipankar Datta, JJ.
  • Mahesh Agarwal, Rajesh Banati, Ashish Sareen, Vikram P. Singh, Ms Aanchal Mullick, Ankit Banati, Advs. & E.C. Agrawala, AOR for the Appellant.
  • Dhruv Mehta, Sr. Adv. Vikas Mishra, Arihant Jain, Sachit Gawri, Aayush Garg, Ms Vidushi Chaudhary, Advs. & Ms Pooja Dhar, AOR for the Respondent.

Facts of the Case

In the instant case, the respondent (i.e. an operational creditor) filed an application u/s 9 of the IBC against the appellant (i.e. the corporate debtor) on the ground that the appellant owed a claimed amount.

However, the application was dismissed by the Adjudicating Authority (NCLT). The NCLT concluded that the claim made was not justified and that the proceedings under the IBC were not sustainable.

Aggrieved by the NCLT’s order, the respondent filed an appeal before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT).

The NCLAT noted that the respondent claimed an amount of Rs. 1,81,45,943 whereas the appellant contended that only a sum of Rs. 22,56,833 was due to be paid.

In this regard, the NCLAT held that since the sum due was more than Rs. 1,00,000, the section 9 application filed before the NCLT was sustainable, and therefore remanded the matter back to the NCLT.

Then, an appeal was made to the Supreme Court against the order passed by the NCLAT.

Supreme Court Held

The Supreme Court noted that the appellant had offered to pay a sum of Rs. 22,56,833, however, the same was declined by the respondent.

The Supreme Court held that the amount of Rs. 22,56,833 was undisputed and had already been deposited by the appellant before the NCLT. Therefore, the matter was to be remitted back to the NCLAT to undertake an exercise to find out whether any amount more than Rs. 22,56,833 was due, as claimed by the respondent and arrive at its conclusion in accordance with the law. As a result, the appeal was disposed of.