While deciding the issue of whether a debt is a Financial Debt or an Operational Debt under IBC, it is necessary to ascertain what is the real nature of the transaction – Global Credit Capital Ltd. and Anr. Vs. Sach Marketing Pvt. Ltd. and Anr. – Supreme Court
In this landmark decision, Hon’ble Supreme Court ruled that:
(i) There cannot be a debt within the meaning of Section 3(11) of the IB Code unless there is a claim within the meaning of Section 3(6) of thereof;
(ii) The test to determine whether a debt is a financial debt within the meaning of Section 5(8) is the existence of a debt along with interest, if any, which is disbursed against the consideration for the time value of money. The cases covered by categories (a) to (i) of sub-section (8) must satisfy the said test laid down by the earlier part of Section 5(8);
(iii) While deciding the issue of whether a debt is a financial debt or an operational debt arising out of a transaction covered by an agreement or arrangement in writing, it is necessary to ascertain what is the real nature of the transaction reflected in the writing; and
(iv) Where one party owes a debt to another and when the creditor is claiming under a written agreement/ arrangement providing for rendering ‘service’, the debt is an operational debt only if the claim subject matter of the debt has some connection or co-relation with the ‘service’ subject matter of the transaction.