The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has issued amendments to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (Information Utilities) Regulations, 2017, effective from October 1, 2024. The amendments include extending the time for certain procedural actions from three days to seven days. Key changes involve revising the details required for submitting records of default and introducing new verification requirements before issuing such records. Specifically, the updated regulations mandate information utilities to verify debtor details and proof of debt before issuing a default record, and to handle disputes more effectively. Financial creditors, particularly banks under the RBI Act, must now have their records of default categorized as ‘authenticated’ or ‘disputed’ based on the status of the default amount. The amendments aim to enhance accuracy and efficiency in handling default records and disputes in insolvency proceedings.
INSOLVENCY AND BANKRUPTCY BOARD OF INDIA
NOTIFICATION
New Delhi, the 13th August, 2024
Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (Information Utilities) (Amendment) Regulations, 2024
No. IBBI/2024-25/GN/REG114.—In exercise of the powers conferred by section 196, 213, 214, 215 read with section 240 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (31 of 2016), the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India hereby makes the following regulations further to amend the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (Information Utilities) Regulations, 2017, namely:-
1. (1) These Regulations may be called the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (Information Utilities) (Amendment) Regulations, 2024.
(2) They shall come into force on 1st October 2024, except regulation 3 and 5 of these Regulations which shall come into force on 1st December 2024.
2. In the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (Information Utilities) Regulations, 2017, (hereinafter referred to as ‘the principal regulations’), in regulation 21, in sub-regulation (2),
(i) in clause (a), for the words “the time specified in the Technical Standards”, the words, “seven days” shall be substituted.
(ii) in clause (b), for the words “three days”, the words, “seven days” shall be substituted.
3. In the principal regulations, in regulation 21,
(i) in sub-regulation (2), in clause (c), for sub-clause (iii), the following sub-clause, shall be substituted, namely:-
“(iii) submitted in Form C of the Schedule:
(A) by a financial creditor, which is a bank included in the second schedule of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934;
(B) by any other creditor, in respect of a debtor other than the corporate debtor as defined in section 3(8) of the Code.”
(ii) in sub-regulation (3), after Table 2, the following proviso shall be inserted, namely: –
“Provided further that in case of financial creditors which are banks included in the second schedule of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, when a debtor disputes a part of the default amount or such dispute is in respect of only non-financial information, then the information utility shall record the status of authentication as ‘authenticated’ in respect of the undisputed default amount.”
4. In the principal regulations, existing regulation 21A regarding “Dissemination of public announcement” shall be re-numbered as regulation 21B, and before regulation 21B so renumbered, the following regulation shall be inserted, namely: –
“21A. Verification of information before issuance of a record of default.
(1) An information utility shall verify the key details such as e-mail address of the debtor, document showing proof of debt, latest acknowledgment of debt by the debtor and proof of default before issuance of record of default in Form D of the Schedule under regulation 21.”
5. In the principal regulations, in the amended regulation 21A regarding ‘Verification of information before issuance of record of default’, after sub-regulation (1), the following sub-regulations shall be inserted, namely: –
“(2) In case a debtor disputes a part of default amount or entire default amount, such debtor shall provide the reasons for such dispute and upload the evidence for the same.
(3) In case of financial creditors which are banks included in the second schedule of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934, an information utility shall issue a record of default with the status of authentication as ‘disputed’ for the default amount for which evidence of dispute has been received and verified, and issue a record of default with the status of authentication as ‘authenticated’ in respect of the balance default amount.”
RAVI MITAL, Chairperson
[ADVT.-III/4/Exty./385/2024-25]
Note: The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (Information Utilities) Regulations, 2017 were published vide Notification No. IBBI/2016-17/GN/REG009 dated 31st March, 2017 in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part III, Section 4, No. 129 on 31st March, 2017 and were last amended by the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (Information Utilities) (Second Amendment) Regulations, 2022 published vide Notification No. IBBI/2022-23/GN/REG/098, dated the 20th September, 2022 in the Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part III, Section 4, No. 463 on 20th September, 2022.
