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2022 (5) TMI 1210 - AT - Insolvency and BankruptcyInitiation of CIRP - Period of limitation - Article 137 of the Limitation Act, 1963 - NCLT rejected the application - Corporate Debtor failed to make repayment of its dues - Operational Creditors - existence of debt and dispute or not - HELD THAT:- It is well settled that the Limitation Act is applicable in IBC Proceedings and IBC does not exclude the application of Sections 6 to 14 or 18 and any provision of the Limitation Act - The question to be considered in the present case is as to whether Appellant can take benefit of Article 1 of the Limitation Act, 1963. Hon’ble Supreme Court in the matter of B.K. EDUCATIONAL SERVICES PRIVATE LIMITED VERSUS PARAG GUPTA AND ASSOCIATES [2018 (10) TMI 777 - SUPREME COURT] after considering the provisions of IBC and the Limitation Act had laid down that for filing application under Section 7 and 9, it is Article 137 which is attracted. In the present case, the Appellant has placed reliance on Article 1 of the Limitation Act which we have extracted above. A similar provision akin to Article 1 of the Limitation Act came for consideration before the Hon’ble Supreme Court in Hindustan Forest Company case. Article 1 is in Part-I of the Schedule of the Limitation Act dealing with suits, under the “suit relating to accounts”. The Application filed under Section 9 by the Appellant cannot be said to be a suit relating to accounts. The Ledger of Operational Creditor has been brought on record including the Bank Statement which clearly mentions that last payment received by the Appellant was on 26th September, 2016. From the last payment, the Application could have been filed within three years. Application under Section 9 filed by the Appellant was on the basis of 174 invoices as has been noticed by the Adjudicating Authority in the Impugned Order. We are satisfied that for the limitation for filing Section 9 application it is Article 137 of the Limitation Act, 1963 which is attracted. Under Article 137, time from which period begins to run is “when the right to apply accrues” the right to apply accrues when invoices issued by the Appellant to the Corporate Debtor were not paid. Invoices on the basis of which payment is claimed are more than three years earlier from the date of filing of Section 9 Application which is the basis for rejection of the Application of the Appellant by the Adjudicating Authority. Appeal dismissed.
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