Coal industry Act 1994

36 Insolvency of licensed operators etc

(1) A licence under this Part and the obligations arising out of, or incidental to, such a licence shall not be treated as property for any of the purposes of the [1986 c. 45.] Insolvency Act 1986 (“the 1986 Act”); but this subsection shall be without prejudice to so much of any licence as, by virtue of section 27(4) or (5) above, authorises the official receiver or any person who is for the time being acting as an insolvency practitioner in relation to the holder of the licence to carry on any of the coal-mining operations to which the licence relates or to transfer the rights and obligations of the holder of the licence to another person.

(2) Where, in the case of the winding up of a company which is or has been a licensed operator, the liquidator or official receiver sends to the registrar of companies—

(a) any such account or return as is mentioned in section 94(3) or 106(3) of the 1986 Act (account of the winding up and return of final meeting or meetings),

(b) any notice for the purposes of section 172(8) of that Act (notice of final meeting and of its decisions),

(c) an application under section 202(2) of that Act (applications for early dissolution),

(d) a copy of such an order for dissolution of the company as is mentioned in section 204(4) of that Act (order for early dissolution in Scotland), or

(e) such a notice as is mentioned in section 205(1)(b) of that Act (notice that winding up complete),

the liquidator or official receiver, on sending it to the registrar of companies, shall also send a copy to the Authority.

(3) A liquidator who contravenes subsection (2) above shall be guilty of an offence and liable, on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding level 3 on the standard scale.

(4) In any proceedings against any person for an offence under subsection (3) above it shall be a defence for that person to show that at the time of the contravention he did not know and had no grounds for suspecting that the company in question had ever been a licensed operator.

(5) In the case of any company which is either—

(a) the holder of a licence under this Part, or

(b) a licensed operator by virtue of section 25(3) above,

the Authority shall be included in the persons who are entitled to make an application under section 651(1) or 653(2) of the [1985 c. 6.] Companies Act 1985 (application to cancel the dissolution of a company) or under section 201(3), 202(5), 204(5) or 205(3) or (5) of the 1986 Act (applications in the case of a winding up for the deferment of a company’s dissolution).

(6) Accordingly, subsection (1) of section 653 of that Act of 1985 (section to apply where specified persons feel aggrieved) shall be disregarded where an application under subsection (2) of that section is made by virtue of subsection (5) above.

(7) In this section “registrar of companies” has the same meaning as in the [1985 c. 6.] Companies Act 1985; and the reference in subsection (1) above to a person’s acting as an insolvency practitioner shall be construed in accordance with section 388 of the 1986 Act.