The Insolvency (Northern Ireland) Order 1989

Supplies of water, electricity, etc. N.I.

197 .F1 —(1) This Article applies in the case of a company where—

[F2 (a) the company enters administration, or]

(b) an administrative receiver is appointed, or

F3 (ba) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(c) a voluntary arrangement[F4 approved under Part II], has taken effect, or

(d) the company goes into liquidation, or

(e) a provisional liquidator is appointed;

and “the office‐holder” means the administrator, the administrative receiver F5 ..., the supervisor of the voluntary arrangement, the liquidator or the provisional liquidator, as the case may be.

(2) If a request is made by or with the concurrence of the office‐holder for the giving, after the effective date, of any of the supplies mentioned in paragraph (3), the supplier—

(a) may make it a condition of the giving of the supply that the office‐holder personally guarantees the payment of any charges in respect of the supply, but

(b) shall not make it a condition of the giving of the supply, or do anything which has the effect of making it a condition of the giving of the supply, that any outstanding charges in respect of a supply given to the company before the effective date are paid.

(3) The supplies referred to in paragraph (2) are—

(a) a supply of electricity by[F6 a public electricity supplier within the meaning of Part II of the Electricity (Northern Ireland) Order 1992],

[F7 (aza) a supply of electricity by a class of person within Class A (small supply) or Class B (resale) of Schedule 3 to the Electricity (Class Exemptions from the Requirement for a Licence) Order (Northern Ireland) 2013 (S.R. 2013/93);]

[F8 (aa) a supply of gas by the holder of a licence under Article 8 of the Gas (Northern Ireland) Order 1996;]

[F9 (b) a supply of water or sewerage services by a water or sewerage undertaker;]

[F10 (ba) a supply of water by a person who has an interest in the premises to which the supply is given;]

[F11 (c) a supply of communications services by a provider of a public electronic communications service,]

[F12 (d) a supply of communications services by a person who carries on a business which includes giving such supplies;

(e) a supply of goods or services mentioned in paragraph (3A) by a person who carries on a business which includes giving such supplies, where the supply is for the purpose of enabling or facilitating anything to be done by electronic means;]

[F11 and in this paragraph “communications services” do not include electronic communications services to the extent that they are used to broadcast or transmit programme services (within the meaning of the Communications Act 2003).]

[F13 (3A) The goods and services referred to in paragraph (3)(e) are—

(a) point of sale terminals;

(b) computer hardware and software;

(c) information, advice and technical assistance in connection with the use of information technology;

(d) data storage and processing;

(e) website hosting.]

(4) “The effective date” for the purposes of this Article is whichever is applicable of the following dates—

[F14 (a) the date on which the company entered administration]

(b) the date on which the administrative receiver was appointed (or, if he was appointed in succession to another administrative receiver, the date on which the first of his predecessors was appointed),

F15 (ba) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(c) the date on which the voluntary arrangement[F4 took effect],

(d) the date on which the company went into liquidation,

(e) the date on which the provisional liquidator was appointed.

F1 mod.by SR 1990/177; SR 1991/411

F2 Art. 197(1)(a) substituted (27.3.2006) by Insolvency (Northern Ireland) Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/1455 (N.I. 10)), arts. 1(3), 3(3), Sch. 2 para. 33(a) (with art. 4); S.R. 2006/21, art. 2 (with S.R. 2006/22, arts. 2-7)

F3 Art. 197(1)(ba) omitted (26.6.2020) by virtue of Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (c. 12), s. 49(1), Sch. 7 para. 19(2)(a) (with ss. 2(2), 5(2))

F4 2002 NI 6

F5 Words in art. 197(1) omitted (26.6.2020) by virtue of Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (c. 12), s. 49(1), Sch. 7 para. 19(2)(b) (with ss. 2(2), 5(2))

F6 1992 NI 1

F7 Art. 197(3)(aza) inserted (26.6.2020) by Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (c. 12), ss. 16(3), 49(1) (with ss. 2(2), 5(2))

F8 1996 NI 2

F9 Art. 197(3)(b) substituted (1.4.2007) by Water and Sewerage Services (Northern Ireland) Order 2006 (S.I. 2006/3336 (N.I. 21)), arts. 1(2), 308(1), Sch. 12 para. 27(1) (with arts. 8(8), 121(3), 307); S.R. 2007/194, art. 2(2), Sch. 1 Pt. II (subject to art. 3, Sch. 2)

F10 Art. 197(3)(ba) inserted (26.6.2020) by Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (c. 12), ss. 16(4), 49(1) (with ss. 2(2), 5(2))

F11 2003 c. 21

F12 Art. 197(3)(d)(e) inserted (26.6.2020) by Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (c. 12), ss. 16(5), 49(1) (with ss. 2(2), 5(2))

F13 Art. 197(3A) inserted (26.6.2020) by Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (c. 12), ss. 16(6), 49(1) (with ss. 2(2), 5(2))

F14 Art. 197(4)(a) substituted (27.3.2006) by Insolvency (Northern Ireland) Order 2005 (S.I. 2005/1455 (N.I. 10)), arts. 1(3), 3(3), Sch. 2 para. 33(b) (with art. 4); S.R. 2006/21, art. 2 (with S.R. 2006/22, arts. 2-7)

F15 Art. 197(4)(ba) omitted (26.6.2020) by virtue of Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (c. 12), s. 49(1), Sch. 7 para. 19(3) (with ss. 2(2), 5(2))

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 Arts. 197-197B applied by S.R. 1995/225, art. 4(3)(b) (as amended (26.6.2020) by Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (c. 12), s. 49(1), Sch. 13 para. 5 (with ss. 2(2), 5(2), 18(4)))