On June 30, 2022, the term of the bankruptcy moratorium ends, which had been extended since it was first approved in March 2020. The bankruptcy moratorium provided for in article 6 of Law 3/2020 suspended the obligation of the debtor who was in a situation of insolvency to request the declaration of insolvency until June 30, 2022. As a second effect, the moratorium also meant that the necessary insolvency applications submitted during its validity were not admitted for processing. Notwithstanding the foregoing, this moratorium did not prevent that debtor who was in a situation of insolvency from requesting the declaration of insolvency.
Therefore, on July 1, 2022, the computation of the legal period of two months begins for the request for the declaration of insolvency of that debtor who is in a state of insolvency. In other words, once the bankruptcy moratorium has been lifted, companies will have a period of two months to comply with the obligation to request a declaration of voluntary bankruptcy. Companies will have until September 1, 2022 to submit the application. Likewise, as of July 1 of this year, creditors may also request the declaration of insolvency of a debtor company, and in that case the insolvency will be considered necessary.
The end of the moratorium does not coincide with the entry into force of the bankruptcy law currently being processed in parliament. Congress is expected to approve the law soon and send it to the Senate, with the expectation that it could come into effect in August.
In short, we will find that in the month of July there will be no bankruptcy moratorium nor will the new bankruptcy regulations be in force, finding ourselves in a situation where companies that are in a situation of insolvency will be forced to request bankruptcy proceedings in accordance with to current law. It is foreseeable that the jurists will advise their clients not to wait for the entry into force of the new law, and request bankruptcy now, which will mean an increase in requests for voluntary bankruptcy from insolvent debtors.
Sara Eixea Vilanova
Lawyer of the Legal Department of TOMARIAL
