The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) has introduced the Insolvency Professionals to act as Interim Resolution Professionals, Liquidators, Resolution Professionals and Bankruptcy Trustees (Recommendation) Guidelines, 2026, effective from July 1 to December 31, 2026. These updated guidelines streamline the selection of insolvency professionals for Interim Resolution Professionals (IRPs), Resolution Professionals (RPs), liquidators and Bankruptcy Trustees (BTs) to ensure quicker and more efficient appointments while maintaining strict eligibility standards. The 2025 guidelines stand repealed upon implementation of the 2026 framework, marking a significant shift in how insolvency professionals are empanelled and appointed across India.
Under the new framework, applicants seeking empanelment must meet specific criteria as outlined in the circular issued on Monday. As reported by PTI, applicants should not be under suspension or debarment and must not be facing any pending disciplinary proceedings. Additionally, they are required to disclose whether they have been convicted by any court during the last three years. To promote better handling of insolvency cases, insolvency professionals are also required to disclose sectors where they are handling or have handled assignments under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC). Eligible insolvency professionals who want to be empanelled have to submit their expression of interest by June 19, 2026, to register their interest, with the Board set to dispatch the finalised list to adjudicating authorities by June 30, 2026. The panel will be organized zone-wise and bench-wise, with eligible IPs ranked according to ongoing assignments, ensuring that professionals are available for appointments when needed.
The panel will have a Zone-wise and Bench-wise list for individual IPs based on the registered office (address as registered with the Board) of the insolvency professional. As per the guidelines, an IP located in the city of Surat (Gujarat) will be included in West Zone, which covers the Ahmedabad, Indore and Mumbai Benches of NCLT. However, the zone criteria is not applicable to IPE as IP as they are eligible for appointment across all benches. The Adjudicating Authority (AA) may refer to or direct the Board for the appointment of IP including the recommendation of IP, from or outside the Panel and retain discretion to appoint professionals as needed. Where two or more IPs get the same score, they will be placed in the Panel in the order of date of their registration with the Board, with the IP registered earlier placed above the IP registered later.
The regulator has established strict compliance measures for panel members. As reported by PTI, any refusal to act as IRP, liquidator, RP or BT, as the case may be, on being appointed by the AA, without sufficient justification, will be treated as a deviation from consent and the name will be removed from the panel for six months. This ensures that empanelled professionals maintain their commitment to the system and are available for appointments when needed. The submission of expression of interest is an unconditional consent by the IP to act as an IRP, Liquidator, RP or BT of any process relating to a corporate or individual debtor, as the case may be. IPs are also required to select the Sectors in which they have handled assignments or are handling assignments under the Code, with the name of the sectors to be chosen from the drop-down list mentioned in the form.
