IBBI issues new guidelines to speed up appointment of insolvency professionals

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India has issued fresh guidelines for empanelment of insolvency professionals to facilitate quicker appointments in corporate insolvency cases.

IBBI has issued fresh guidelines for the empanelment of insolvency professionals to enable quick appointments in corporate insolvency and bankruptcy cases.

These guidelines provide the procedure for preparing a panel of insolvency professionals (IPs) to act as Interim Resolution Professionals (IRPs), liquidators, resolution professionals (RPs) and bankruptcy trustees (BT).

In a circular on Monday, applicants seeking empanelment should not be under suspension or debarment and should not be facing any pending disciplinary proceedings. They are also required to disclose whether they have been convicted by any court during the last three years.

Under the new norms, the IPs will be required to submit an expression of interest to get their names included in the panel.

Once the consent is submitted, IPs will not be permitted to decline any assignment unless specifically allowed by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Debt Recovery Tribunal (DRT), or the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI).

''Any refusal to act as IRP, liquidator, RP or BT, as the case may be, on being appointed by the AA, without sufficient justification, will be treated as a deviation from consent and the name will be removed from the panel for six months,'' the regulator said.

To promote better handling of the insolvency cases, IPs have also been asked to disclose sectors where they are handling or have handled assignments under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

Eligible insolvency professionals who want to be empanelled have to submit their expression of interest by June 19, 2026, to register their interest, with the Board set to dispatch the finalised list to adjudicating authorities by June 30, 2026.