Whether non-acceptance of goods on the part of Corporate Debtor amounts to an Operational Debt under IBC – Adishank Chemicals Pvt. Ltd. Vs. Baerlocher India Additives Pvt. Ltd. – NCLT Mumbai Bench
Hon’ble NCLT Mumbai Bench held that:
(i) Non-acceptance of the goods by the Corporate Debtor cannot be equated with the default in respect of an operational debt. Section 5 (21) of IB Code, 2016 defines the operational debt as a “claim in respect of the provisions of goods and services including employment or debt in respect of payment of dues arising under any law for the time being in force payable to the Central Government, any State Government and any Local Authority.” Since the goods were not supplied/delivered for whatever reasons, even if attributable to the Corporate Debtor, no case of default of operational debt is made out.
(ii) It is evident that the claim of the Petitioner does not appear to be covered under the definition of operational debt as defined under 5 (21) of the Code. It also appears that the claim of the Petitioner in this case arises out of breach of contract by the Corporate Debtor by not honoring its commitment in purchasing the goods from the Petitioner for which it had placed the purchase order dated 23.06.2022.
