Case Note & Summary
The appeal arose from a judgment dated 19.12.2025 by the National Company Law Tribunal, Ahmedabad, dismissing an application under Section 9 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, filed by RKB Global Limited against Tulip Polychem Private Limited. The dispute centered on freight charges related to a shipment of iron ore from India to China, where both parties had loaded cargo on the same vessel. The Appellant contended that it was liable for the freight charges due to a Charter Party Agreement with Jaldhi Overseas Pte. Ltd., while the Respondent claimed that it had already paid its share of the freight charges through a third party. The Appellant argued that the Respondent's liability was acknowledged in a Settlement Agreement with Jaldhi, which allowed recovery of charges from the Respondent. The Respondent countered that the freight charges had been settled in 2019, and the Appellant's claims were an attempt to shift liability after its own insolvency proceedings. The Tribunal found that the Appellant failed to establish a clear operational debt, as the dispute involved contested facts requiring detailed examination, which fell outside the summary jurisdiction of Section 9 proceedings. The appeal was ultimately dismissed, affirming the Adjudicating Authority's findings regarding the existence of a genuine dispute and the lack of crystallized operational debt.
Headnote
A) Insolvency Law - Operational Debt - Existence of Operational Debt - Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, Section 9 - The Appellant failed to establish a clear operational debt owed by the Respondent as the dispute regarding payment of freight charges was genuine and required detailed examination. The Adjudicating Authority dismissed the application on grounds of lack of evidence for operational debt. Held that the dispute was not merely a defense to the application (Paras 36-56).
Issue of Consideration
Whether the Appellant established the existence of a clear and undisputed operational debt and default against the Respondent under Section 9 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016.
Final Decision
The Tribunal dismissed the appeal, affirming the NCLT's decision that the Appellant failed to establish a clear operational debt and that a genuine dispute existed.
Law Points
- Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code
- operational debt
- corporate insolvency resolution process
- assignment of debt
- genuine dispute
