Limitation for insolvency application turns on absence of acknowledgment and expired claim period

A section 9 application for initiation of corporate insolvency resolution was examined on limitation. The claim was based on invoices raised in 2014, but no payment or acknowledgment was shown to extend the prescribed period. The Tribunal found that a letter seeking credit for returned goods did not amount to an admission of liability or a fresh acknowledgment sufficient to restart limitation. As the application was filed in December 2018, it was beyond time and therefore barred by limitation.

---

---

Issues: Whether the section 9 application for initiation of the corporate insolvency resolution process was barred by limitation.

Analysis: The petition was founded on invoices raised in 2014 and no payment was shown to have been made so as to extend limitation. The Tribunal found that the corporate debtor had not made any acknowledgment of the debt, and a letter seeking credit for returned goods did not amount to an admission of liability or a fresh acknowledgment sufficient to start a new period of limitation. The application, filed in December 2018, was therefore beyond the prescribed period.

Conclusion: The application was held to be barred by limitation.

---