Liquidator remuneration: ordinary liquidation duties cannot justify exclusion of time absent proof of exceptional delay.

A liquidator's ordinary statutory functions in liquidation, including taking custody of assets, curing title defects, defending proceedings, selling assets and distributing proceeds, cannot be treated as excluded time for enhanced remuneration unless exceptional circumstances and specific delay are proved. The Tribunal found no reliable material showing the exact period of pendency, no basis to say earlier extensions were not already factored in, and no comparable exceptional conduct by any creditor or other party. It also noted that the exclusion request was raised belatedly after remuneration had already been received. The request for exclusion of time and consequential additional remuneration was therefore rejected.

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Issues: Whether the liquidator was entitled to exclusion of time spent in taking possession of assets, curing title defects, contesting litigations and removing attachment, so as to claim additional remuneration beyond the fee structure under the liquidation regulations.

Analysis: The liquidator's cited activities fell within the ordinary duties of a liquidator under the insolvency framework, including taking custody of assets, defending proceedings, selling assets and distributing proceeds. The record did not establish with certainty that the alleged litigations caused any exceptional delay beyond the normal discharge of statutory functions, nor was there material to show the exact period of pendency or how the earlier extensions were not already taken into account. The earlier precedent relied on was distinguishable because the delay there arose from the secured creditor's conduct, whereas no comparable exceptional circumstance was shown here. The claim for exclusion of time was also viewed as belated, having been raised after remuneration had already been received.

Conclusion: The request for exclusion of time and consequential additional remuneration was rejected, and the Tribunal's view that the application was devoid of merit was upheld.

Ratio Decidendi: Time spent by a liquidator in performing ordinary statutory duties during liquidation cannot, without proof of exceptional circumstances causing specific delay, be excluded for the purpose of claiming remuneration beyond the prescribed regulatory fee structure.

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