Insolvency Technical Update - June 2019

An article has been published on icas.com, following on from the series which looked at the significant changes to insolvency procedures in Scotland from 6 April 2019. The article looks at some of the issues that have arisen in practice following the introduction of the 2018 Rules.

The Insolvency Technical Update for May 2019 included notification that the Accountant in Bankruptcy had issued updated Note for Guidance for Trustees in sequestration. A summary of the main changes  is also now available.

The Insolvency Service has issued Dear IP 88, which provides information  in relation to Companies House forms for Scottish corporate insolvencies, guidance for uploading redundancy payments information and changes to placing Gazette notices.

The edition also advises that the redundancy payments helpline is experiencing an extremely high volume of calls and indicates that the best way of contact is via email.

The Accountant in Bankruptcy has announced that their new DAS case management system eDEN will go live on 1 July 2019 and that from that date all new DAS applications must be submitted via the new web portal . Users who have been active on DASH will be able to log in using their existing username but will have to reset their password.

The draft legislation for the introduction of The Debt Arrangement Scheme (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2019 (the regulations) has been laid in parliament. The stated purpose of the regulations is “to enhance the Debt Arrangement Scheme by streamlining processes for increased flexibility and sustainability, and making it more accessible to the people of Scotland where it is the best solution to meet their specific needs”. The regulations will be considered in more detail in a future article on icas.com.

The Accountant in Bankruptcy have published the second edition of their ‘Supervision Standard’ newsletter. The edition contains articles on:

• Bankruptcy statistics released
• BASYS development
• Trustee tips and best practice
• Bankruptcy Restrictions team update
• Useful contacts

The Accountant in Bankruptcy have published the latest edition of their ‘DAS Digest’. The edition contains:

• DAS consultation updates
• DAS statistics
• eDEN system update
• eDEN training site and training sessions
• DAS case reviews and decisions
• DASH messages and top tips

The European Council has formally adopted new business insolvency rules proposed by the European Commission aimed at making early restructuring procedures to prevent insolvency for viable businesses available throughout the EU. It is intended that the rules will help viable companies in financial difficulties negotiate a restructuring plan with their creditors, continue their activity and preserve jobs. A factsheet on the new rules has been produced.

The directive comes into effect on 20 July 2019 and member states have two years to implement the new provisions. The extent to which the UK implements the new provisions will depend on the terms of any Brexit agreement.

The Insolvency Service have updated their guidance on how to complain about an Insolvency Practitioner. The updated guidance addresses issues around the progression of complaints by third parties and GDPR-related matters.

The Accountant in Bankruptcy is looking to appoint an additional non-executive board member preferably with experience in finance and risk and governance. Further information and application pack is available from the AiB website.

The Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy have issued a consultation paper on new proposals to enhance the role of Companies House, increase the transparency of UK corporate entities and help combat economic crime. The consultation closes on 5 August 2019.

The Scottish Law Commission has published proposals for the reform of the law of heritable securities. They are set out in the Discussion Paper on Heritable Securities: Pre-default. Comments on the Discussion Paper are requested by 30 September 2019.

The Discussion Paper is the first of two such papers planned for this Project. The Commission intends to publish a second paper on post-default (enforcement) in late 2020.

Dingley and others v Nisa Retail Ltd (Re MKG Convenience Ltd (in liquidation)) [2019] EWHC 1383 (Ch) A recent High Court case provided another example of how difficult it is to avoid repaying payments and restoring other transactions made in breach of section 127 of the Insolvency Act. (via Lexology)

Pantiles Investments Limited & Anor v Winckler [2019] EWHC 1298 (Ch) The High Court recently considered a rare fraudulent trading claim, concerning a property transaction the liquidator considered was intended to defraud an associated party’s creditors, with the company’s former director a 'knowing party' to this. (via Lexology)