Insolvency Act 1986

[F1 A54 Interpretation of this Part: general U.K.

(1) In this Part—

• “company” means—

  (a)

  a company registered under the Companies Act 2006 in England and Wales or Scotland, or

  (b)

  an unregistered company that may be wound up under Part 5 of this Act;

• “the court” means such court as is prescribed;

• “eligible”, in relation to a company, has the meaning given by Schedule ZA1;

• “employer”, in relation to a pension scheme—

  (a)

  in sections A8(2)(c), A17(8)(c) and A39(8)(c), means an employer within the meaning of section 318(1) of the Pensions Act 2004;

  (b)

  elsewhere in this Part, has the same meaning that it has for the purposes of Part 2 of the Pensions Act 2004 (see section 318(1) and (4) of that Act);

• “enactment” includes an Act of the Scottish Parliament and an instrument made under such an Act;

• “hire-purchase agreement” includes a conditional sale agreement, a chattel leasing agreement and a retention of title agreement;

• “liability” means (subject to subsection (2)) a liability to pay money or money’s worth, including any liability under an enactment, a liability for breach of trust, any liability in contract, tort, delict or bailment, and any liability arising out of an obligation to make restitution;

• “money purchase scheme” has the meaning given by section 181(1) of the Pension Schemes Act 1993;

• “the monitor”, in relation to a moratorium, means the person who has the functions of the monitor in relation to the moratorium (see also section A40 for cases where two or more persons act as the monitor);

• “moratorium” means a moratorium under this Part;

• “moratorium debt” has the meaning given by section A53;

• “occupational pension scheme” has the meaning given by section 1 of the Pension Schemes Act 1993;

• “pension scheme” has the meaning given by section 1 of the Pension Schemes Act 1993;

• “pre-moratorium debt” has the meaning given by section A53;

• “qualified person” means a person qualified to act as an insolvency practitioner;

• “unable to pay its debts”—

  (a)

  in relation to a registered company, has the same meaning as in Part 4 (see section 123);

  (b)

  in relation to an unregistered company, has the same meaning as in Part 5 (see sections 222 to 224).

(2) For the purposes of references in any provision of this Part to a debt or liability it is immaterial whether the debt or liability is present or future, whether it is certain or contingent, or whether its amount is fixed or liquidated, or is capable of being ascertained by fixed rules or as a matter of opinion.

(3) In this Part references to filing a document with the court are, in relation to a court in Scotland, references to lodging it in court.

(4) The Secretary of State may by regulations amend this section for the purposes of changing the definition of “qualified person” in subsection (1).

(5) Regulations under subsection (4) are subject to the affirmative resolution procedure.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Pt. A1 inserted (26.6.2020) by Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (c. 12), ss. 1(1), 49(1) (with ss. 2(2), 5(2))

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. A54(1) modified (temp.) (26.6.2020) by Corporate Insolvency and Governance Act 2020 (c. 12), s. 49(1), Sch. 4 paras. 13, 53 (with ss. 2(2), 5(2), Sch. 4 para. 1)

C2 S. A54(1) modified (30.9.2021) by S.I. 2014/229, art. 2(2A), Sch. A1 para. 1(3) (as inserted by The Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies (Administration) (Amendment) Order 2021 (S.I. 2021/1048), arts. 1(1), 2)