CIRP Timelines: Section 12 and the 330-Day Limit

Time is central to the Code. A distressed company loses value every day: customers leave, employees resign, assets decay and the chance of rescue fades. The old regime failed largely because proceedings took years. The Code therefore fixes strict timelines for the corporate insolvency resolution process, and the 2026 Amendment extended this discipline to the tribunals themselves. This note explains the statutory limits, how the courts have applied them and what happens when they are breached.

1. Section 12

• Section 12(1). The corporate insolvency resolution process shall be completed within 180 days from the date of admission of the application.
• Section 12(2) and (3). The resolution professional files an application for extension if instructed by a resolution of the committee of creditors passed by a vote of 66 per cent; if satisfied that the process cannot be completed within 180 days, the NCLT may extend it by up to 90 days, and the extension may be granted only once.
• The 330 day limit. A proviso inserted in 2019 provides that the process shall mandatorily be completed within 330 days from the insolvency commencement date, including any extension and the time taken in legal proceedings.
• Transition. Processes already pending beyond 330 days when the 2019 amendment came into force on 16 August 2019 were to be completed within 90 days of that date.

Figure 1: Extending the process

2. The Courts on Timelines

• ArcelorMittal India v Satish Kumar Gupta, 2018. The Supreme Court stressed that the timelines are central to the Code, but held that time taken in litigation could be excluded in appropriate cases, so that a party is not prejudiced by delays of the courts.
• Essar Steel, 2019. The Court upheld the 330 day limit as ordinarily binding, but struck down the word mandatorily in the proviso as an unreasonable restriction on litigants' rights, because delay in tribunals is often not attributable to any party; in exceptional cases, where only a short period remains and the delay is due to the tribunals' own backlog, the NCLT and NCLAT may extend time beyond 330 days.
• Result. The 330 days remain the norm, and extensions beyond them must be justified by exceptional reasons, such as time lost in litigation not caused by the parties.

3. The Model Timeline

Regulation 40A of the CIRP Regulations sets out a model timeline for each step of the process so that it can be completed within 180 days. The first thirty days cover the public announcement, claims and the constitution of the committee (Topic 24); the remaining steps lead to a plan.

Figure 2: Later steps in the model timeline (latest dates)

• Information memorandum. Submitted to the committee within 54 days (Topic 35)
• Expressions of interest. Invitation published by day 75, with at least fifteen days for submission; provisional and final lists of prospective resolution applicants follow.
• Request for resolution plans. Issued by day 105, giving at least thirty days for plans.
• Approval. The committee's approved plan is filed with the NCLT by day 165, for approval by day 180.

4. When the Period Expires

• Liquidation, section 33(1)(a). If the NCLT does not receive a resolution plan before the expiry of the CIRP period, or the maximum period allowed, it shall order liquidation.
• Management continues. Under the 2019 proviso to section 23(1), the resolution professional continues to manage the operations of the debtor after the period expires, until a plan is approved or a liquidator is appointed.
• Plan already pending. Where a plan was approved by the committee within time but the NCLT's decision is delayed, the debtor is ordinarily not liquidated merely because the period has run out while the plan is under consideration.

5. The 2026 Timelines for Tribunals

Figure 3: Timelines added or tightened in 2026

The 2026 Amendment recognised that most delay arises not from the parties but from the tribunals. It fixed periods of fourteen or thirty days for key orders of the NCLT, including admission, withdrawal, approval of plans and orders of liquidation, and required written reasons where an order is delayed. It also required the NCLAT to dispose of appeals within three months, and shortened the liquidation process to 180 days, extendable by 90 days. These periods are expected to operate as directions to the tribunals rather than as grounds for dismissing applications.

6. Timelines in Other Processes

• Pre-packaged process. Plan to the NCLT within 90 days and completion within 120 days (Topic 21)
• Creditor-initiated process. 150 days, extendable once by up to 45 days with 66 per cent approval, once notified (Topic 62)
• Individuals. The insolvency resolution process for personal guarantors and individuals has its own shorter periods under Part III (Topic 69)

7. Law and Practice

IBBI data have consistently shown that the average duration of completed processes is well beyond 330 days, largely because of litigation at the admission stage, challenges by promoters and bidders, and vacancies and backlog in the tribunals. The Supreme Court in Mansi Brar Fernandes (2025) directed the filling of NCLT and NCLAT vacancies on priority, and the 2026 timelines aim at the same problem.

8. Frequently Asked Questions

Can the CIRP be extended more than once?

No. Section 12(3) allows only one extension of up to 90 days. The 330 day limit also includes time in litigation, though Essar Steel (2019) allows a further extension in exceptional cases.

What happens if no resolution plan is approved within the CIRP period?

The NCLT orders liquidation under section 33(1)(a). Until a liquidator is appointed, the resolution professional continues to manage the corporate debtor.

Why did the Supreme Court strike down the word mandatorily?

Because the time taken in legal proceedings is often beyond the control of the parties, and forcing liquidation in every case where 330 days had passed would penalise them for the tribunals' delay. The Court held that the limit must yield in exceptional cases.

9. Related Topics

• Topic 24: Interim Resolution Professional. The first thirty days.
• Topic 35: Information Memorandum and Invitation of Plans. The bidding steps.
• Topic 53: Section 33. Initiation of liquidation.