Companies Act 2014 section 529

Incurring of certain liabilities by examiner

Section 529 deals with the treatment of liabilities incurred by a company during the protection period of an examinership, specifying which expenses qualify as properly incurred by the examiner and what happens to those liabilities if the company subsequently enters liquidation.

• Liabilities incurred during the protection period and certified in writing by the examiner are treated as expenses properly incurred by the examiner, provided the examiner considers them necessary for the company's survival as a going concern.
• Qualifying expenses include fees for negotiating a scheme of arrangement, professional advice costs, employee wages for work already carried out, and ordinary business payments.
• If the company enters liquidation within six months after the protection period ends, liabilities that were reasonable and immediately necessary for negotiating the scheme of arrangement cannot be declared void or unenforceable merely because they are detrimental to creditors generally.
• The protection period runs from the date the examiner is appointed until the company is no longer under the protection of the court.