Section 100 explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Section 100 is the decision point of the insolvency resolution process for individuals and partnership firms. After the resolution professional reports on an application under section 94 or 95, the Adjudicating Authority has fourteen days to admit or reject it. This article reads the section as printed in the IBBI consolidated text of the Code amended up to 12 August 2021. If a decision of this kind affects your position as debtor or creditor, a legal dispute resolution adviser can help you plan the next step.
The Adjudicating Authority shall, within fourteen days from the submission of the resolution professional's report under section 99, pass an order admitting or rejecting the application under section 94 or 95. On admission, it may, at the professional's request, issue instructions for negotiations between the debtor and creditors aimed at a repayment plan. A copy of the order, the report and the application go to the creditors within seven days. If the application is rejected because it was made with the intention to defraud creditors or the professional, the order must record that the creditor can file for a bankruptcy order under Chapter IV.
Sub-section (1): the decision and its deadline
"The Adjudicating Authority shall, within fourteen days from the date of submission of the report under section 99 pass an order either admitting or rejecting the application referred to in section 94 or 95, as the case may be."
Three features:
- Mandatory: the verb is "shall". The Authority must pass an order one way or the other.
- Clock: fourteen days run from the date of submission of the report, not from the date of the application.
- Scope: the section covers an application by the debtor (section 94) and one by a creditor (section 95). See our articles on section 94 and on the section 95 process.
The report is the resolution professional's. As printed in the consolidated text, section 99(1) requires the professional to examine the application "within ten days of his appointment" and submit a report recommending approval or rejection. Section 52 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Act, 2026 (No. 6 of 2026) substitutes the words "twenty-one days" for "ten days" in section 99(1). That change is not explained here; see our article on the insolvency professional in personal guarantor proceedings. It matters to the timeline because the fourteen days in section 100(1) start only when the report is submitted. The Amendment Act, 2026 comes into force on the date or dates the Central Government notifies; the notification is not in the texts consulted, so check whether this change has been notified.
Sub-section (2): instructions for negotiation
"Where the Adjudicating Authority admits an application under sub-section (1), it may, on the request of the resolution professional, issue instructions for the purpose of conducting negotiations between the debtor and creditors and for arriving at a repayment plan."
- It applies only after admission.
- It is discretionary: "may".
- It needs a request from the resolution professional; the Authority does not act on its own motion under this sub-section.
- Its purpose is two-fold: conducting negotiations between the debtor and the creditors, and arriving at a repayment plan.
The repayment plan itself, its contents and its approval are dealt with in sections 105 to 115. See our article on the repayment plan under section 105 and, for the creditors' meeting, our article on sections 107 to 109.
Sub-section (3): copies to creditors
"The Adjudicating Authority shall provide a copy of the order passed under sub-section (1) along with the report of the resolution professional and the application referred to in section 94 or 95, as the case may be, to the creditors within seven days from the date of the said order."
Three documents go to the creditors: the order, the report and the application. The period is seven days from the order. The sub-section does not limit the copy to admission orders, and it speaks of "the creditors" in general. The next step, a public notice inviting claims, follows under section 102; see our article on sections 102 to 104.
Sub-section (4): rejection for intent to defraud
"If the application referred to in section 94 or 95, as the case may be, is rejected by the Adjudicating Authority on the basis of report submitted by the resolution professional that the application was made with the intention to defraud his creditors or the resolution professional, the order under sub-section (1) shall record that the creditor is entitled to file for a bankruptcy order under Chapter IV."
This is a narrow rule. It applies when:
- the application is rejected;
- the rejection rests on the professional's report; and
- the report says the application was made with the intention to defraud "his creditors or the resolution professional".
When those conditions are met, the order "shall record" that the creditor is entitled to apply for a bankruptcy order under Chapter IV. The route to Chapter IV is then in section 121(1)(a), which refers to an order under sub-section (4) of section 100; see our article on sections 121 and 122. Note that sub-section (4) speaks of "the creditor" in the singular. Section 121(1) lets an application for bankruptcy be made "by a creditor individually or jointly with other creditors or by a debtor", with a filing period of three months from the date of the order (section 121(2)).
Example. Dev Malhotra applies under section 94 and, according to the resolution professional's report, has transferred valuable property to a relative a week before applying and has not disclosed it. The professional reports that the application was made with the intention to defraud his creditors. The Adjudicating Authority rejects it on the basis of the report, and the order records that the creditor is entitled to file for a bankruptcy order under Chapter IV. A creditor owed money by Dev may then apply for bankruptcy within the three months that section 121(2) allows.
What section 100 leaves out
- It does not say what happens to the interim position of the debtor between application and admission. That is dealt with in section 96, and the moratorium after admission in section 101; see our articles on section 96 and section 101.
- It does not give grounds for admission or rejection beyond sub-section (4). The grounds must be taken from the report and from the other provisions of the Chapter.
- It does not say what the Authority must do if it misses the fourteen days.
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (Insolvency Resolution Process for Personal Guarantors to Corporate Debtors) Regulations, 2019 is the regulation set for this process for personal guarantors; the copy consulted is amended up to 02-06-2026. No rules or regulations on other individuals or on partnership firms are in the texts consulted.
The Amendment Act, 2026
No clause of the Amendment Act, 2026 amends section 100 itself as printed in the texts consulted. The change to section 99(1) described above and the changes to sections 96, 106 and 121 are the nearest. The Amendment Act, 2026 comes into force on the date or dates the Central Government notifies; the notification is not in the texts consulted.
Amendments and notifications made after 12 August 2021, other than the Amendment Act, 2026, are not in the texts consulted and should be checked.
Need help after an admission or rejection order?
The periods after an order are short: seven days for copies to creditors, then public notice and claims. A legal dispute resolution team can help you read the order and its attachments and plan your response, whether you are the debtor or a creditor.
Key takeaways
- The Adjudicating Authority must admit or reject within fourteen days of the resolution professional's report.
- After admission, it may issue instructions for negotiations on a repayment plan, at the professional's request.
- Creditors receive the order, report and application within seven days.
- A rejection for intent to defraud must record the creditor's right to apply for a bankruptcy order under Chapter IV.
- The 2026 Amendment Act changes the period in section 99(1) that precedes the report.
Read next
- Sections 102 to 104: public notice, claims and the list of creditors
- Sections 97 and 98: appointment and replacement of the resolution professional
- Sections 121 and 122: application for bankruptcy
- Section 101: the moratorium in individual insolvency
Disclaimer: Based on the IBBI consolidated text of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 amended up to 12 August 2021 and on the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Act, 2026 (No. 6 of 2026), which comes into force on the date or dates notified by the Central Government, as consulted on 2 October 2026. It explains the words of the statute only; commencement notifications, other amendments made after 12 August 2021, notified thresholds, the rules and IBBI regulations, and the way tribunals and courts apply these sections should be checked. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.