Moratorium bars statutory assessment proceedings, and unfiled claims cannot survive approval of the resolution plan.

Section 14(1)(a) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code bars continuation of assessment proceedings against a corporate debtor during moratorium, including proceedings before statutory authorities. A claim founded on such barred assessment cannot be pursued in the corporate insolvency resolution process, and once a resolution plan is approved under Section 31(1), claims not included in the approved plan stand extinguished. EPFO demands based on assessment steps taken during the moratorium, where no corresponding claim was filed in the insolvency process, were therefore unenforceable after plan approval.

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Issues: Whether assessment proceedings under the EPF law could be continued during the moratorium under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, and whether a demand founded on such proceedings could be enforced after approval of the resolution plan.

Analysis: Section 14(1)(a) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code bars institution or continuation of proceedings against the corporate debtor during moratorium, and the expression "proceedings" is wide enough to include proceedings before statutory authorities. Where assessment proceedings are initiated or continued during the moratorium, no claim based on such assessment can be pressed in the corporate insolvency resolution process. Once a resolution plan is approved under Section 31(1), claims not forming part of the approved plan stand extinguished and cannot be revived through post-plan notices or summons. The EPFO demands in question were founded on assessment and consequential steps taken during the moratorium period, and no such claim was filed in the insolvency process.

Conclusion: The post-moratorium demands based on assessment proceedings undertaken during the moratorium were unenforceable, and the challenge to such demands succeeded.

Ratio Decidendi: Proceedings by statutory authorities that fasten pecuniary liability on a corporate debtor are hit by the Section 14 moratorium, and no claim founded on such barred assessment can be enforced after approval of the resolution plan if it did not form part of the approved plan.

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