Ia 1060/CN/2022 of Employees State Insurance Corporation v. Sri Lakshmi Srinivasa Jute Mills Pvt. Ltd.
Case brief
What is this about?
The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal held that statutory ESI contributions held by a corporate debtor are excluded from the liquidation estate under Section 36(4)(a)(i) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016. Filing the claim in Form B and describing it as an operational or Government-dues claim was only procedural and did not change its substantive character. The approval of a resolution plan allowing only 1% of the ESI claim was set aside to that extent, with reconsideration directed regarding the excluded ESI contributions.
What did the court decide?
The impugned NCLT order was set aside insofar as it approved treatment of the appellant’s ESI contributions as ordinary Government/Operational Creditor dues and allowed payment of only 1%. The Resolution Professional and successful resolution applicant must give effect to the order regarding ESI contributions covered by Section 40(4) of the ESI Act read with Section 36(4)(a)(i) of the IBC.