56E.
—(1) A debt repayment scheme shall commence in respect of a debtor on the date on which a debt repayment plan comes into effect under section 56D(8) in respect of that debtor.
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(2) The Official Assignee —
(a)
shall administer all debt repayment schemes under this Part; and
(b)
may charge such fees as may be prescribed in respect of such administration.
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(3) Upon the commencement of a debt repayment scheme in respect of a debtor, the Official Assignee shall pay out from the Bankruptcy Estates Account and into the Debt Repayment Schemes Account the balance of any deposit paid by the applicant creditor to the Official Assignee in respect of the relevant bankruptcy application made against the debtor, for the purpose of discharging the costs and expenses incurred by the Official Assignee in the administration of the scheme.
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56F.
—(1) Subject to subsection (2), during the period beginning with the effective date of a debt repayment scheme applicable to a debtor and ending with the date on which the scheme ceases under section 56K(1) —
(a)
no creditor to whom the debtor is indebted in respect of any debt provable under the scheme shall have any remedy against the person or property of the debtor in respect of that debt; and
(b)
no action or proceedings shall be proceeded with or commenced against the debtor in respect of that debt,
except by leave of the court and in accordance with such terms as the court may impose.
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(2) Subsection (1) shall not affect the right of any secured creditor to realise or otherwise deal with his security in the same manner as he would have been entitled to realise or deal with it if that subsection had not been enacted.
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(3) Where the creditor of a debtor (to whom a debt repayment scheme applies) has issued execution against the goods or lands of the debtor, or has attached any debt due or property belonging to the debtor, the creditor shall not be entitled to retain the benefit of the execution or attachment against the debtor unless the creditor has completed the execution or attachment before the effective date of the scheme, except that —
(a)
a person who purchases in good faith under a sale by the Sheriff any goods of the debtor on which an execution has been levied shall in all cases acquire a good title to them against the debtor; and
(b)
the rights conferred by this subsection on the debtor may be set aside by the court in favour of the creditor to such extent and subject to such terms as the court may think fit.
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(4) For the purposes of subsection (3) —
(a)
an execution against goods is completed by seizure and sale;
(b)
an attachment of a debt is completed by receipt of the debt; and
(c)
an execution against land or any interest therein is completed by registering under any written law relating to the registration of land a writ of seizure and sale attaching the interest of the debtor in the land described therein.
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56G.
—(1) Subject to section 56I, the following debts shall be provable under a debt repayment scheme in respect of a debtor:
(a)
any debt to which the debtor is subject at the effective date of the scheme, and any interest on such debt which is payable by the debtor for any period before the effective date;
(b)
any debt to which the debtor becomes subject after the effective date of the scheme but before the cessation of the scheme by reason of any obligation incurred before the effective date, and any interest on such debt which is payable by the debtor for any period before the effective date;
(c)
any debt being the balance due from the debtor after the security in respect of a secured debt owing by the debtor at the effective date of the scheme is realised at any time before the cessation of the scheme.
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(2) A creditor shall file his proof of debt with the Official Assignee under this Part in such form and manner as may be prescribed.
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(3) The Official Assignee shall, in accordance with such rules as may be prescribed, admit or reject, in whole or in part, any proof of debt filed under this Part.
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(4) Any debtor or creditor who is dissatisfied with the Official Assignee’s decision under subsection (3) may, within such time and in such manner as may be prescribed, appeal to the court against the decision.
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(5) The court may, on hearing an appeal under subsection (4), confirm, reverse or vary the decision of the Official Assignee.
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(6) An appeal under subsection (4) shall not suspend the commencement, operation or effect of a debt repayment scheme under this Part.
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56H.
—(1) Subject to subsection (6), the Official Assignee may at any time on or after the effective date of a debt repayment scheme, of his own volition or at the request of —
(a)
the debtor to whom the scheme applies;
(b)
a creditor who is bound by the debt repayment plan under the scheme; or
(c)
a creditor, not being a creditor referred to in paragraph (b), who proves his debt under the scheme,
modify the plan in such manner as he considers appropriate.
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(2) Before making any modification to the debt repayment plan, the Official Assignee shall, by notice in writing to the debtor and all the creditors who have proved their debts under the debt repayment scheme, convene and preside at a meeting of creditors.
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(3) Subject to subsection (6), the Official Assignee may, at or after the meeting of creditors, refuse to modify the debt repayment plan or may make such modifications to the plan as he considers appropriate.
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(4) The debtor or any creditor who has proved his debt under the debt repayment scheme may, within such time and in such manner as may be prescribed, appeal to the Appeal Panel against the Official Assignee’s decision under subsection (3) on the ground that the decision unfairly prejudices his interests.
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(5) The Appeal Panel may determine the appeal by —
(a)
confirming the Official Assignee’s decision; or
(b)
subject to subsection (6), making such or such further modifications to the debt repayment plan as it considers appropriate,
and the decision of the Appeal Panel shall be final.
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(6) Subject to such further restrictions on the extension of the repayment period of a debt repayment plan as may be prescribed, any extension under this section of the repayment period of the plan shall be subject to the repayment period not exceeding at any time —
(a)
(b)
in any other case, 5 years.
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(7) If a debt repayment plan is modified under this section, the modification shall take effect on such date as may be specified by the Official Assignee in his modification of the plan under subsection (3) and as from that date, the plan as modified shall be binding on —
(a)
the debtor;
(b)
every creditor who is bound by the plan before the modification; and
(c)
where the plan is modified to include the debt of a creditor referred to in subsection (1)(c), that creditor.
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(8) An appeal under subsection (4) shall not suspend the commencement, operation or effect of a debt repayment scheme under this Part.
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56I.
—(1) The following shall be paid under a debt repayment plan applicable to a debtor in priority to all other debts proved under the debt repayment scheme (to which the plan relates) and included in the plan:
(a)
firstly, the cost and expenses incurred by the Official Assignee in the administration of the scheme, and the costs (whether taxed or agreed) of the applicant creditor in respect of the relevant bankruptcy application made against the debtor;
(b)
secondly, subject to subsection (2), all wages or salary (whether or not earned wholly or in part by way of commission) including any amount payable by way of allowance or reimbursement under any contract of employment or award or agreement regulating the conditions of employment of any employee;
(c)
thirdly, subject to subsection (2), the amount due to an employee as a retrenchment benefit or an ex gratia payment under any contract of employment or award or agreement that regulates the conditions of employment, whether such amount becomes payable before, on or after the effective date of the scheme;
(d)
fourthly, all amounts due in respect of any work injury compensation under the Work Injury Compensation Act (Cap. 354) accrued before, on or after the effective date of the scheme;
(e)
fifthly, all amounts due in respect of contributions payable during the 12 months immediately before, on or after the effective date of the scheme by the debtor as the employer of any person under any written law relating to employees’ superannuation or provident funds or under any scheme of superannuation which is an approved scheme under the Income Tax Act (Cap. 134);
(f)
sixthly, all remuneration payable to any employee in respect of vacation leave or, in the case of his death, to any other person in his right, accrued in respect of any period before, on or after the effective date of the scheme; and
(g)
seventhly, the amount of all taxes assessed and any goods and services tax due under any written law on or before the effective date of the scheme.
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(2) The amount payable under subsection (1)(b) and (c) shall not exceed an amount that is equivalent to 5 months’ salary whether for time or piecework in respect of services rendered by any employee to the debtor or $7,500, whichever is the lesser.
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(3) The Minister may, by order published in the Gazette, amend subsection (2) by varying the amount specified in that subsection as the maximum amount payable under subsection (1)(b) and (c).
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(4) The debts in each class specified in subsection (1) shall rank in the order therein specified but debts of the same class shall rank equally between themselves, and shall be paid in full, unless the amount standing to the credit of the debtor in the Debt Repayment Schemes Account is insufficient to meet them, in which case they shall abate in equal proportions between themselves.
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(5) Where any payment has been made to any employee of the debtor on account of wages, salary or vacation leave out of money advanced by a person for that purpose, the person by whom the money was advanced shall, under the debt repayment plan, have a right of priority in respect of the money so advanced and paid, up to the amount by which the sum in respect of which the employee would have been entitled to priority under this section has been diminished by reason of the payment, and shall have the same right of priority in respect of that amount as the employee would have had if the payment had not been made.
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(6) Subject to subsection (7), where a debt proved by a creditor under a debt repayment scheme includes interest, the interest shall be calculated —
(a)
at such rate to which the creditor is entitled under any written law or rule of law if that rate does not exceed the rate prescribed under paragraph (b); or
(b)
in any other case, at such rate as may be prescribed unless the debt repayment plan under the scheme stipulates that the rate shall be the higher rate to which the creditor is entitled under any written law or rule of law.
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(7) For the purposes of paragraph (b) of subsection (6), a debtor shall not be required under a debt repayment plan to pay interest at a rate higher than the rate prescribed under that paragraph unless the Official Assignee is satisfied that the debtor has sufficient funds to pay in full all his debts proved under the scheme and included in the plan, interest on such debts at the higher rate, and the costs and expenses specified in subsection (1)(a).
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(8) Interest on preferential debts shall rank equally with interest on debts other than preferential debts.
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(9) In this section —
“employee” means a person who has entered into or works under a contract of service with the debtor and includes a subcontractor of labour;
“ex gratia payment” means the amount payable to an employee on the termination of his service by his employer on the ground of redundancy or by reason of any re-organisation of the employer, profession, business, trade or work, and “the amount payable to an employee” for these purposes means the amount stipulated in any contract of employment, award or agreement, as the case may be;
“interest” includes any pecuniary consideration in lieu of interest and any penalty or late payment charge by whatever name called;
“preferential debt” means any debt specified in subsection (1);
“retrenchment benefit” means the amount payable to an employee on the termination of his service by his employer on the ground of redundancy or by reason of any re-organisation of the employer, profession, business, trade or work, and “the amount payable to an employee” for these purposes means the amount stipulated in any contract of employment, award or agreement, as the case may be or, if no amount is stipulated therein, such amount as is stipulated by the Commissioner for Labour;
“wages or salary” includes —
(a)
all arrears of money due to a subcontractor of labour;
(b)
any amount payable to an employee on account of wages or salary during a period of notice of termination of employment or in lieu of notice of such termination, as the case may be, whether such amount becomes payable before, on or after the effective date of the debt repayment scheme; and
(c)
any amount payable to an employee, on termination of his employment, as a gratuity under any contract of employment, or under any award or agreement that regulates the conditions of his employment, whether such amount becomes payable before, on or after the effective date of the debt repayment scheme.
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56J.
—(1) A debtor to whom a debt repayment scheme applies shall make all payments under his debt repayment plan to the Official Assignee.
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(2) The Official Assignee may, from time to time, subject to the retention of such sums as may be necessary for the costs and expenses of the administration of the debt repayment scheme, and in accordance with section 56I, the debt repayment plan and such rules as may be prescribed, declare and distribute dividends amongst the creditors who have proved their debts under the scheme and whose debts are included in the plan.
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(3) No action for a dividend shall lie against the Official Assignee.
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(4) If the Official Assignee refuses to pay any dividend, the court may, if it thinks fit, order the Official Assignee to pay the dividend, and also to pay out of the Consolidated Fund interest thereon for the period that it is withheld and the costs of the application to the court.
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