UCO Bank Vs Nandini Impex Private Limited (NCLT Kolkata)
Excessive GST Compliance Fees During CIRP Not Admissible as CIRP Costs: NCLT Kolkata
The application was filed by a GST Consultant seeking directions to treat ₹6,48,000 as Insolvency Resolution Process Costs (CIRP Costs) and to direct payment of the outstanding professional fees with interest. The applicant contended that he had been engaged as a GST Consultant before the commencement of the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) and continued to provide GST compliance and statutory filing services during the CIRP with the knowledge and approval of the Resolution Professional (RP). He relied on invoices, email correspondence and partial payments made by the erstwhile RP to establish a subsisting professional relationship and argued that the services constituted CIRP Costs under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC).
The current RP opposed the application, contending that the applicant had never been formally appointed under the IBC framework, had no appointment letter or Committee of Creditors (CoC) approval, and was attempting to convert an unapproved and inflated fee claim into CIRP Costs. It was further submitted that the Corporate Debtor had negligible business activity during CIRP, GST compliances largely involved Nil returns, and the fees claimed were arbitrary and disproportionate.
