At the end of June, Lord Wolfson approved the extension of the Temporary Insolvency Practice Direction, which replaced the previous TIPD. The bottom line to takeaway is that the procedures that have been followed for insolvency proceedings or for the provisions in relation to administration appointments and statutory declarations throughout the COVID-19 pandemic will remain unchanged, to at least the 30th of September, with further extensions still a possibility.
The Practice Direction seeks to help the courts and avoid many parties attending hearings in person and use online platforms, where possible.
Nevertheless, despite this extension, there is no change to the law. The restriction still means that a creditor cannot present a petition during the relevant period (which is the period of when the temporary direction is in place). However, this can be challenged if the creditor(s) can show that there are reasonable grounds to believe the Covid-19 pandemic did not have a financial effect on the company, or that the current outstanding debt would have accrued, regardless of the outbreak. For a more in detail analysis of this, view the COIN Scheme’s first blog post entitled “CO.IN in the time of COVID-19” by Edward Mordaunt and Callum Reid-Hutchings: https://companyinsolvencyscheme.com/2020/11/23/blog-post-1-co-in-and-the-corporate-governance-insolvency-act-2020/
Company Insolvency Pro Bono Scheme 