Companies Act 2014 section 589

Commencement of court ordered winding up

Section 589 establishes when a court-ordered winding up is deemed to have commenced, which is important for determining the effective date from which the winding-up process takes legal effect.

• A court-ordered winding up is deemed to commence on the date the winding-up petition is presented to the court, not when the court makes its order.
• If the company had already passed a voluntary winding-up resolution before the petition was presented, the winding up is deemed to have commenced on the date that resolution was passed, even though the court subsequently grants the petition.
• Where a voluntary winding up was already underway before the court-ordered process, all steps taken during the voluntary winding up are treated as valid unless the court directs otherwise.
• The court may set aside proceedings taken during a voluntary winding up only where fraud or mistake is proven.