Insolvency Act 1986

183 Effect of execution or attachment (England and Wales). E+W+S

(1) Where a creditor has issued execution against the goods or land of a company or has attached any debt due to it, and the company is subsequently wound up, he is not entitled to retain the beneift of the execution or attachment against the liquidator unless he has completed the execution or attachment before the commencement of the winding up.

(2) However—

(a) if a creditor has had notice of a meeting having been called at which a resolution for voluntary winding up is to be proposed, the date on which he had notice is substituted, for the purpose of subsection (1), for the date of commencement of the winding up;

(b) a person who purchases in good faith under a sale by the [F1 enforcement officer or other officer charged with the execution of the writ] any goods of a company on which execution has been levied in all cases acquires a good title to them against the liquidator; and

(c) the rights conferred by subsection (1) on the liquidator may be set aside by the court in favour of the creditor to such extent and subject to such terms as the court thinks fit.

(3) For purposes of this Act—

(a) an execution against goods is completed by seizure and sale, or by making of a charging order under section 1 of the M1 Charging Orders Act 1979;

(b) an attachment of a debt is completed by receipt of the debt; and

(c) an execution against land is completed by seizure, by the appointment of a receiver, or by the making of a charging order under section 1 of the Act above-mentioned.

(4) In this section “goods” includes all chattels personal; and [F2 “enforcement officer” means an individual who is authorised to act as an enforcement officer under the Courts Act2003].

[F3 (4A) For the purposes of this section, Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs is to be regarded as having attached a debt due to a company if it has taken action under Part 1 of Schedule 8 to the Finance (No. 2) Act 2015 (enforcement by deduction for accounts) as a result of which an amount standing to the credit of an account held by the company is—

(a) subject to arrangements made under paragraph 6(3) of that Schedule, or

(b) the subject of a deduction notice under paragraph 13 of that Schedule.]

(5) This section does not apply in the case of a winding up in Scotland.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in s. 183(2)(b) substituted (15.3.2004) by Courts Act 2003 (c. 39), ss. 109(1), 110, Sch. 8 para. 295(2); S.I. 2004/401, art. 2 (with art. 3)

F2 Words in s. 183(4) substituted (15.3.2004) by Courts Act 2003 (c. 39), ss. 109(1), 110, Sch. 8 para. 295(3); S.I. 2004/401, art. 2 (with art. 3)

F3 S. 183(4A) inserted (18.11.2015) by Finance (No. 2) Act 2015 (c. 33), Sch. 8 para. 31

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 Pts. 1-4 applied (with modifications) (8.7.2021) by The Payment and Electronic Money Institution Insolvency Regulations 2021 (S.I. 2021/716), reg. 2, Sch. 1 para. 3 (with reg. 5) (as amended (4.1.2024) by S.I. 2023/1399, regs. 1(2), 4)

C2 S. 183 applied (with modifications) (17.2.2009 for certain purposes, otherwise 21.2.2009) by Banking Act 2009 (c. 1), ss. 103, 263(1)(2) (with s. 247); S.I. 2009/296, arts. 2, 3, Sch. para. 2

C3 S. 183 applied (with modifications) (8.7.2021) by The Payment and Electronic Money Institution Insolvency Regulations 2021 (S.I. 2021/716), regs. 2, 37, Sch. 1 para. 3 (with reg. 5)

Marginal Citations

M1 1979 c. 53.