The Committee of Creditors (CoC) and Insolvency Resolution Professional (IRP) of stressed steel products manufacturer Asian Colour Coated Ispat have moved the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), seeking a deadline extension for submission of bids, almost a month after the deadline expired on March 8.

The demand, which will once again put to test the tussle between the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) principle — of fetching maximum value for stressed assets — and the sanctity of laid rules, will come up for hearing on April 10.

The petition with NCLT Delhi was filed by Kuldip Kumar Bassi, the IRP, saying the Tribunal should exempt the time period spent in clearing a dispute over a land parcel owned by the company.

Some private equity investors and a private bank seem to have shown interest in bidding for the firm, as its valuation will improve after the land dispute resolution.

JSW Steel, which was the only bidder for the stressed company, had placed a bid of ₹1,200 crore. Asian Colour Coated has defaulted on ₹4,900 crore and SBI is the lead financial creditor with an exposure of ₹1,600 crore.

When contacted, a senior JSW official told BusinessLine that any asset resolution under IBC should follow laid down processes and any extension in deadline would be challenged at multiple levels.

While ordering re-bidding in the Essar Steel case, a leading lawyer said the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) had made it clear that only bidders who had submitted EoIs in the initial stages would be eligible to place fresh bids.

These kind of delaying tactics to attract fresh bidders would further erode faith in the insolvency process, the official said.

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