COVID-19 lockdown period excluded from CIRP timeline where valuation and accounts could not be completed on time.

The NCLT allowed exclusion of 116 days from the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process timeline because the resolution process could not be completed within the original period due to the COVID-19 lockdown. The inability to complete valuation work and finalise accounts during the lockdown supported the request for extension. The tribunal relied on the Supreme Court's suo motu limitation order during the pandemic and Regulation 40C, which excludes lockdown periods from computation of time for tasks that could not be completed because of such lockdown. The affected period was therefore excluded for completion of the CIRP.

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Issues: Whether 116 days deserved to be excluded from the statutory period for completion of the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process and whether the requested extension of time should be granted.

Analysis: The Application was made under Section 12(2) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 read with Rule 11 of the National Company Law Tribunal Rules, 2016. The record showed that the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process could not be completed within the original timeline because of the COVID-19 lockdown and the resulting inability to complete valuation work and finalize accounts. The Supreme Court's suo motu order extending limitation during the pandemic and Regulation 40C, which excludes lockdown periods from computation of time for tasks that could not be completed due to such lockdown, supported exclusion of the affected period.

Conclusion: The request for exclusion of 116 days from the CIRP timeline was allowed and the period was excluded for completion of the resolution process.

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