NCLT extends Go First insolvency by 60 days

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) granted a 60-day extension for the completion of Go First airline's corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP). The committee of creditors (CoC) for the budget carrier had instructed the resolution professional (RP) managing the CIRP to request a 60-day extension from the tribunal last month. This decision came as the CoC had received expressions of interest from three potential resolution applicants, accompanied by earnest money. Go First, facing financial troubles, is indebted to financial creditors with an amount of Rs 65.21 billion. Additionally, the airline owes Rs 26 .60 billion and Rs 12.02 billion to aircraft lessors and vendors, respectively. This marks the second extension granted to Go First by the NCLT in the past three months. The tribunal justified its decision based on the Supreme Court's ruling in the Essar Steel India case. In that judgment, the top court had invalidated the term mandatorily in Section 12 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). Section 12 outlines the timeline within which the CIRP initiated under the code should be concluded.