Canbank Factors Limited Vs Brijesh Singh Bhaduria (NCLAT Delhi)
The appeal was filed under Section 61 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC) challenging the order of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), New Delhi, which had dismissed the appellant’s application seeking recognition of its claim as a Financial Creditor in the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) of the Corporate Debtor. The appellant had also sought acceptance of its claim of ₹6.35 crore as financial debt.
The appellant, a Non-Banking Financial Company (NBFC) engaged in trade receivables discounting/factoring, had provided factoring facilities to the Corporate Debtor through the TReDS platform (M1 Exchange). Under the arrangement, suppliers uploaded invoices for goods supplied to the Corporate Debtor, the appellant discounted those invoices by paying the suppliers, and thereafter sought recovery of the invoice amounts from the Corporate Debtor. Following commencement of CIRP, the appellant filed its claim in Form C as a Financial Creditor. The Resolution Professional (RP) rejected that classification and advised the appellant to submit its claim as an Operational Creditor in Form B, stating that the underlying debt remained operational despite assignment of receivables.
The appellant contended that it qualified as a Financial Creditor under Section 5(8) of the IBC and argued that the RP could not reject its claim merely because it had been filed in the wrong form. Relying on the Supreme Court judgment in Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority, it submitted that the prescribed claim form is directory and not mandatory, and that once a claim is supported by proof, the RP must verify and admit it in the appropriate category. The appellant further argued that its application before the NCLT had been filed before the Committee of Creditors (CoC) approved the resolution plan, and therefore subsequent approval of the plan should not affect consideration of its claim.
