Tribunal Upholds Decision on Financial Creditor Status and Resolution Plan

The Tribunal upheld the Adjudicating Authority's decision to reject the appellant's claim as a financial creditor, classifying it as operational debt. The amount provided by the appellant was not held in trust and was considered part of the corporate debtor's assets. The Tribunal also affirmed the approval of the Resolution Plan by the Adjudicating Authority, dismissing the appellant's challenges.

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Issues Involved:
1. Whether the appellant's claim should be admitted as a financial creditor.
2. Whether the amount given by the appellant was held in trust and should be excluded from the assets of the Corporate Debtor.
3. Approval of the Resolution Plan by the Adjudicating Authority.

Issue-wise Detailed Analysis:

1. Admission of Appellant's Claim as Financial Creditor:

The Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) commenced against the Corporate Debtor on 16.07.2020. The appellant submitted a claim of Rs. 50 Lakhs as financial debt on 31.07.2020. The Resolution Professional (RP) informed the appellant that the debt could not be termed as financial debt and suggested filing it as operational debt. The appellant filed I.A. No. 2247/2021 seeking direction to admit the claim as a financial creditor and to reconstitute the Committee of Creditors (CoC). However, the Adjudicating Authority rejected this application. The agreement dated 24.10.2018 between the appellant and the Corporate Debtor indicated that the amount was the appellant's share for submitting a Bid Bond Bank Guarantee. The Adjudicating Authority concluded that the disbursement was not for the time value of money, thus not meeting the criteria under Section 5(8) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (I&B Code). The Tribunal upheld this conclusion, finding no error in the Adjudicating Authority's order.

2. Amount Held in Trust:

The appellant argued that the Rs. 50 Lakhs given to the Corporate Debtor was held in trust and should be excluded from the corporate debtor's assets. However, no such argument or pleading was raised before the Adjudicating Authority. The Tribunal examined this claim under Section 18(1)(f) of the I&B Code, which excludes assets held under trust from the corporate debtor's assets. The appellant cited several judgments to support the trust claim, including Ganesh Export & Import Co. vs. Mahadeolal Nathmal, Reserve Bank of India vs. Bank of Credit and Commerce International (Overseas) Ltd., and Canbank Financial Services Ltd. vs. Custodian & Ors. The Tribunal acknowledged the legal principles but found no indication in the agreement that the amount was given in trust. The agreement specified that the amount was the appellant's share for the Bid Bond Bank Guarantee, not an amount held in trust.

3. Approval of the Resolution Plan:

The CoC approved the Resolution Plan on 17.02.2022, and the RP filed I.A. No. 665/2022 for its approval. The Adjudicating Authority approved the Resolution Plan on 29.09.2022. The appellant did not raise any substantial grounds to challenge this approval. The Tribunal found no reason to interfere with the Adjudicating Authority's order approving the Resolution Plan.

Conclusion:

The Tribunal dismissed both appeals, finding no merit in the appellant's submissions. The appellant's claim was correctly classified as operational debt, not financial debt. The amount given by the appellant was not held in trust and was part of the corporate debtor's assets. The approval of the Resolution Plan by the Adjudicating Authority was upheld.

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