IBC route sets cash registers ringing for creditors in 2023

For businesses and lenders resorting to bankruptcy action in the face of payment defaults by their clients, 2023 has turned out to be a great year, going by the outcome of debt resolution under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

- Gireesh Chandra Prasad

Creditors invoking IBC have realized about ₹67,000 crore in calendar year 2023, a 221% jump from the year before. In 2022, creditors had realized about ₹20,860 crore by initiating bankruptcy action under IBC, a senior government official said. The recovery includes both repayment of debt after turning around a distressed company as well as liquidation proceeds.

The sharp improvement in realizations comes from a jump in the number of cases resolved by National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) benches under IBC in 2023. In the just-concluded calendar year, creditors managed to pull off debt resolution in 273 cases, the highest in a year since the debut of IBC in 2016, against 160 in 2022, the official cited above said on the condition of anonymity. This shows a robust upward trajectory in the effectiveness of the bankruptcy code, the official said.