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2020 (9) TMI 1117 - AT - Insolvency and BankruptcyDirection to Appellant Bank to release of the margin money amount - Respondent submits that Performance Bank Guarantee is not included in the definition of ‘security interest’ for the benefit of the beneficiary of such Performance Bank Guarantee - HELD THAT:- Admittedly, ₹ 51,27,591/- was the margin money, while was deposited by the Corporate Debtor to secure Bank Guarantee in favour of M/s Tata Steel Processing & Distribution Limited for an amount of ₹ 4,01,94,954/-. The said Bank Guarantee was invoked during the moratorium period, i.e. on 27th December 2018. Given Section 14(3) of the I&B Code, 2016 invocation of the said guarantee could not be stopped by the Bank. The ‘Security Interest’ does not include the ‘Performance Bank Guarantee’. The Performance Bank Guarantee is not covered by Section 14 of the Code - It is pertinent to mention that the ‘margin money’ is not a security as has been argued by the Respondent and does not require any registration of charge. Only the assets gave by the Company as securities are required to be registered under Section 77 of the Companies Act, 2013. In this case, Bank Guarantee was invoked on 27th December 2018 by the beneficiary M/s Tata Steel Processing & Distribution Limited, and the margin money amount was used towards the payment of the Bank Guarantee. Once this margin money was used to honour the bank guarantee, nothing remained with the Bank, and as such, the Respondent Resolution Professional cannot demand that amount - The Resolution Professional/IRP is only entitled to those payments to which the Corporate Debtor is entitled if no orders of Moratorium would have been passed under Section 14 of the Code. The Corporate Debtor had no right to claim the margin money after the invocation of Bank Guarantee. Appeal allowed in part.
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