Insolvency Act 1986

267 Grounds of creditor’s petition. E+W

(1) A creditor’s petition must be in respect of one or more debts owed by the debtor, and the petitioning creditor or each of the petitioning creditors must be a person to whom the debt or (as the case may be) at least one of the debts is owed.

(2) Subject to the next three sections, a creditor’s petition may be presented to the court in respect of a debt or debts only if, at the time the petition is presented—

(a) the amount of the debt, or the aggregate amount of the debts, is equal to or exceeds the bankruptcy level,

(b) the debt, or each of the debts, is for a liquidated sum payable to the petitioning creditor, or one or more of the petitioning creditors, either immediately or at some certain, future time, and is unsecured,

(c) the debt, or each of the debts, is a debt which the debtor appears either to be unable to pay or to have no reasonable prospect of being able to pay, and

(d) there is no outstanding application to set aside a statutory demand served (under section 268 below) in respect of the debt or any of the debts.

[F1 (3) A debt is not to be regarded for the purposes of subsection (2) as a debt for a liquidated sum by reason only that the amount of the debt is specified in a criminal bankruptcy order.]

(4) “The bankruptcy level” is [F2 £5,000] but the Secretary of State may by order in a statutory instrument substitute any amount specified in the order for that amount or (as the case may be) for the amount which by virtue of such an order is for the time being the amount of the bankruptcy level.

(5) An order shall not be made under subsection (4) unless a draft of it has been laid before, and approved by a resolution of, each House of Parliament.

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 267(3) repealed (prosp.) by Criminal Justice Act 1988 (c. 33, SIF 39:1), ss. 123, 170, 171, Sch. 8 para. 16, Sch. 16

F2 Word in s. 267(4) substituted (1.10.2015) by The Insolvency Act 1986 (Amendment) Order 2015 (S.I. 2015/922), arts. 1, 2 (with art. 3)

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 267 applied with modifications by S.I. 1986/1999, art. 3, Sch. 1 Pt. II

S. 267 extended (1.4.1992) by S.I. 1992/613, reg. 49(1)

S. 267: power to modify conferred (6.3.1992) by Local Government Finance Act 1992 (c. 14), s. 14(3), Sch. 4 para. 9(1) (with s. 118(1)(2)(4))

C2 S. 267 modified by S.I. 1989/1058, reg. 18(1)

C3 S. 267 modified by S.I. 1989/438, reg. 43(1)

C4 S. 267 power to amend conferred by Local Government Finance Act 1988 (c. 41, SIF 81:1), s. 22, Sch. 4 para. 9(1)

C5 S. 267 modified (6.4.2010) by The Community Infrastructure Levy Regulations 2010 (S.I. 2010/948), reg. 105(1)

C6 S. 267 applied (with modifications) (1.12.1994) by S.I. 1994/2421, art. 8(3)(9), Sch. 4 Pt. II para. 6(b) (as amended) (8.12.2017) by The Insolvency (Miscellaneous Amendments) Regulations 2017 (S.I. 2017/1119), reg. 1(1), Sch. 2 para. 5)