THE SUPREME COURT WILL CONSIDER A DISPUTE ON SIMPLIFIED BANKRUPTCY OF AN ABSENT DEBTOR

Disputes over the simplified bankruptcy of companies that have effectively stopped working have returned to the focus of the judicial system. The Board of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation (SCES) accepted for consideration a complaint where the participants in the process disagree with the verdict of the lower authorities on recognizing the company as an absent debtor.

The essence of the proceedings is case no. A65-23306/2023. Initially, the Federal Tax Service for Tatarstan filed a lawsuit, demanding that Alfa-Tech be declared insolvent. The tax authorities insisted on a simplified procedure, pointing to a debt of 22.3 million rubles. In support of their position, they stated that the company has no property, and the real activity has not been conducted for a long time.

Previously, all three courts sided with the fiscal authority. The first instance found the features of the missing debtor and launched bankruptcy proceedings. The higher courts (appeal and cassation) upheld this decision.

The District Court, in particular, referred to paragraph 22 of the review of the practice of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation No. 3 for 2021. It explains that a simplified procedure is possible not only when there is no communication with management or work is stopped. It is also possible under other circumstances listed in Article 230 of the Bankruptcy Law. For example, such a situation may arise when the assets of an organization are not even enough to cover the costs of a case.

However, Alfa-Tech itself and its founder strongly disagreed with this approach. They filed cassation complaints with the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation. Their main argument is that there are no signs of an absent debtor. According to the applicants, the organization continues to operate. Tax reports are submitted without violations, current payments (including utilities) are being fulfilled, and debts to the budget are gradually being paid off. Moreover, representatives of the company regularly attend court sessions. This, according to opponents of the tax service, proves that the company is manageable and actually functioning. 

The judge of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation, Irina Bukina, recognized the arguments as worthy of attention and referred the case to the SCEC for consideration. The hearing date is set for May 18. The decision of the highest court should clarify when it is permissible to apply simplified bankruptcy of an absent debtor, and when it is excluded. It is expected that the court will clearly distinguish between situations where the company can be considered truly "disappeared."

   

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