The Supreme Court has held that the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation’s (EPFO) claims towards interest and damages, if not determined before the commencement of the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP), are contingent liabilities and cannot be raised after the approval of a resolution plan under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).
A Bench of Justices Manoj Misra and Vijay Bishnoi said that while provident fund (PF) dues are excluded from the liquidation estate under Section 36(4)(iii) of the IBC, the corporate debtor’s liability towards interest under Section 7Q and damages under Section 14B of the Employees’ Provident Funds and Miscellaneous Provisions Act, 1952 would be treated as contingent liabilities if they had…