Operational Creditor Claims in CIRP

Overview

Operational creditors occupy a structurally disadvantaged position within the IBC 2016 framework. They are excluded from the Committee of Creditors, which holds exclusive decision-making authority over CIRP conduct, resolution professional appointment, and resolution plan approval. Yet operational creditors — suppliers owed trade payables, contractors with unpaid dues, landlords with rent arrears, and employees with salary claims — collectively represent a substantial portion of the outstanding claims in most CIRPs. Understanding this structural reality and navigating within it effectively requires specialist IBC counsel. The operational creditor's most powerful tool is the Section 9 petition itself — the ability to initiate CIRP against a corporate debtor upon a minimum default of rupees one crore, as enhanced by the IBBI threshold notification. The Section 8 demand notice process preceding the petition is procedurally critical: a defective demand notice provides the corporate debtor with grounds to raise a pre-existing dispute and defeat admission. Corpus Juris Legal prepares Section 8 notices and Section 9 petitions with the precision that the NCLT Delhi bench demands, anticipating and pre-empting dispute defences. Once CIRP is admitted, the operational creditor's focus shifts to claim filing before the resolution professional under the IBBI (Insolvency Resolution Process for Corporate Persons) Regulations 2016. The proof of claim must be filed in the prescribed form with supporting documentation, and any rejection by the resolution professional must be challenged promptly before the NCLT. As resolution plans are developed, operational creditors must ensure that the plan's treatment of their claims meets the minimum requirements under Section 30(2)(b) of IBC — not less than the amount payable in liquidation — and scrutinise the plan for provisions that might extinguish legitimate claims or alter payment terms to their detriment. Corpus Juris Legal has represented trade creditors, logistics companies, technology vendors, construction contractors, and employee unions in CIRPs before NCLT Delhi, with a track record of securing claim admission and meaningful plan treatment even where operational creditor interests would otherwise be subordinated.

Key Service Components

• ◆Section 8 demand notice drafting — IBC-compliant content, service, and dispute pre-emption strategy
• ◆Section 9 petition preparation and NCLT Delhi filing — default documentation and jurisdictional compliance
• ◆Responding to corporate debtor's pre-existing dispute defence — evidence strategy and hearing representation
• ◆Proof of claim filing before resolution professional — prescribed form, documentation, and deadline management
• ◆Claim rejection challenge before NCLT — application under Regulation 18 of CIRP Regulations
• ◆Resolution plan review — Section 30(2)(b) minimum payment compliance and plan challenge advisory
• ◆Employee and workmen dues — priority claim status under Section 53 and CIRP Regulations
• ◆NCLAT appellate representation — challenges to NCLT orders in operational creditor matters
• ◆Settlement negotiation with corporate debtor during CIRP — IBC Section 12A and settlement approval
• ◆Post-resolution plan implementation — payment monitoring and enforcement of plan obligations

Our Approach

Corpus Juris Legal applies a debt recovery mindset to operational creditor mandates. We assess the strength of the underlying claim, the viability of the corporate debtor's dispute defence, and the resolution professional's independence before recommending a litigation or claim-filing strategy. Where a negotiated settlement is commercially superior to CIRP participation, we pursue it with the same rigour applied to contested proceedings — always with the client's recovery objective as the governing criterion.

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