Modernised insolvency rules commence in April 2017
The new rules which will guide insolvency practice from April 2017 have been published.
Modernised and consolidated insolvency rules have been laid in Parliament and will come into force on 6 April 2017.
The new rules replace the Insolvency Rules 1986 and their 28 subsequent amendments. They have been developed working with the insolvency profession and have been approved by the Insolvency Rules Committee.
The rules have been recast to reflect modern business practice and to make the insolvency process more efficient. Changes include:
- enabling electronic communications with creditors
- removing the automatic requirement to hold physical creditors meetings, although creditors will be able to request meetings
- enabling creditors to opt out of further correspondence and for small dividends to be paid by the office holder without requiring a formal claim from creditors
Further details will be available in the Explanatory Memorandum, which is published alongside the Rules. We have also published a .
The rules will apply in England and Wales. A parallel project to modernise the Scottish insolvency rules is currently underway with the Scottish Government. We are continuing to work on consequential amendments to other related legislation, including the Insolvent Partnerships Order.
Preparing for the introduction of the modernised rules
We will continue to support the insolvency profession to prepare for the introduction of the new rules. Our staff have taken part in a number of roadshows organised by the ICAEW and the Insolvency Practitioners Association, amongst others.
In November we will also launch an online community where you can ask questions of our technical team and share your comments with other insolvency professionals.
Sign up to receive an email alert when the online community is launched.