RoC submits report on Jet Airways’ books to ministry

By Anjana Das

New Delhi, May 8 (IANS) The Registrar of Companies (Mumbai) has submitted the inspection report of the beleaguered Jet Airways' books to the Corporate Affairs Ministry which will shortly start examining the details.

"Action will be based on the inspection report of Jet Airways' books," a ministry source said.

The regional directorate of Mumbai initiated inspection of the books eight months after the Ministry directed it for such a probe to ascertain if there was any diversion of funds.

The RoC's inspection of a company's books is akin to a preliminary fact-finding exercise which could lay the ground for further investigation. In the Jet Airways case, the RoC stepped in last August after the company deferred its first quarter FY19 results.

Jet Airways is passing through a critical time but has not yet landed at the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). Its share sale process, led by its lenders, is underway and neither the promoters nor lenders are willing to provide the emergency funding needed for it to remain afloat till a turnaround plan is agreed upon between shareholders and lenders.

The airline's shareholders or lenders did not take it to a bankruptcy court in time. Going to NCLT would have meant a court-appointed resolution.

This has led its key lender State Bank of India (SBI) taking charge of the resolution efforts under corporate rescue plan outside the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). But with the airline's operations halted, there is a growing demand to leave it to a bankruptcy tribunal now.

So far no investor has shown any keenness in Jet's expression of interest (EoI) floated by SBI. Jet owes Rs 8,000 crore to the banks.