Liquidator's fee on net realisation: going-concern costs form part of liquidation cost, leaving no payable fee on these facts.

Under the IBC liquidation framework, a liquidator's fee is computed under Regulation 4 on the amount realised after deducting liquidation costs where the committee of creditors has not fixed the fee. Costs incurred in carrying on the corporate debtor as a going concern were treated as part of liquidation cost for priority and fee computation, and the later clarification on "amount realised" did not create any payable balance once those costs were netted off. On the facts recorded, the sales turnover and recoveries were lower than the liquidation costs, so no liquidator's fee was payable and the remuneration claim failed.

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Issues: Whether the ex-liquidator was entitled to any fee under the liquidation framework on the basis of sales and recoveries made during the liquidation period, including while the corporate debtor was run as a going concern, after deducting liquidation costs.

Analysis: The fee of a liquidator, where not fixed by the committee of creditors, is governed by Regulation 4 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (Liquidation Process) Regulations, 2016 and is payable as a percentage of the amount realised net of other liquidation costs. The amendment to the definition of liquidation cost and the subsequent clarification issued by the Board were treated as settling that the costs of carrying on business as a going concern form part of liquidation cost for the purposes of priority and fee computation. The sales turnover and recoveries relied upon by the ex-liquidator were found to be substantially less than the liquidation cost determined on record, and the later clarification regarding amount realised was not accepted as giving the appellant any payable balance once liquidation costs were deducted. The order also found no infirmity in the adjudicating authority's reconsideration of the matter in light of later legal developments.

Conclusion: The ex-liquidator was not entitled to any fee on the facts found, and the claim for remuneration failed.

Ratio Decidendi: Where liquidation costs exceed the amount realised, no liquidator's fee is payable under Regulation 4 on a net-realisation basis, and costs incurred in running the corporate debtor as a going concern form part of liquidation cost for this purpose.

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