PART-I

 ²_[“Definitions and forms etc."]

2. Definitions - In these rules, unless the context otherwise requires,

(1)  ‘Act’ means the Companies Act,  2013 (18 of 2013);

(2) "address for service" shall mean the address furnished by a party or his authorised representative at which service of summons, notices or other processes  may  be  effected   under  these rules;

(3) “advocate" means a person who is entitled to practise as such under the Advocates Act, 1961 (25 of 1961);

(4) “applicant" means a petitioner or an appellant  or  any  other  person  or entity capable of making an application including an interlocutory application or  a petition  or an  appeal  under  the Act;

(5) "application" means any application, 1[Omitted] or proceedings filed under the provisions of the Act, including any transferred application  or transferred  petition  as defined  under  sub-rule  (29) ;

(6) "authorised representative" means a person authorised in writing by a party to present his case before the Tribunal as the representative of  such    party  as provided  under  section  432  of the Act;

(7) "Bench" means a Bench of the Tribunal  constituted  under  section  419 of the Act and includes Circuit Benches constituted by the President with prior approval of the Central Government to sit at such other geographical locations as may  be necessary  having  regard  to requirements;

(8) “Central Registry" means the registry in which all the  applications or petitions and documents are received by the Registrar for allocation to the concerned  Bench  of  the  Tribunal  for disposal;

(9) " certified’  means  in  relation  to  a copy  of a document  as  hereunder;—

(a) certified  as provided  in  section  76 of the  Indian  Evidence Act,  1872; or

(b) certified  as  provided  in  section  6 of  Information  Technology  Act, 2000;or

(c) certified  copy issued  by  the  Registrar of Companies  under  the  Act;

(d) copy of document as may be a downloaded from any online portal prescribed under section 398 of the Act or a photo copy of the original pertaining to any company registered with the Office of the Registrar of Companies of the concerned State duly certified by a legal practitioner or  2["or a chartered accountant in practice or a cost accountant in practice or a company secretary in practice"];

(10) "certified by Tribunal’ means in relation to a copy of a document, certified to be a true copy issued by the Registry or of a Bench of the Tribunal under its hand and seal and as provided in section 76 of the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 ( I of 1872);

(11) "creditor" means  any  person  to whom a debt  is owed;

(12) "fee" means the amount payable  in  pursuance  of  the  provisions  of the Act and these rules for any petition or application  or interlocutory  application or a document or for certified copy of document or order  of  the  Tribunal or such other paper as may be specified in Schedule of Fees to these rules and includes any modifications as may be  made  thereto  or any  fee  as prescribed for filing  of documents  to  the Tribunal  by  these rules;

(13) “filer" means an authorised representative of that person or any party to the proceedings who files  any document with the Tribunal in relation to a case filed under the Act, or any rules thereunder;

(14) "filed" means filed in the office of the Registry of the Tribunal¡

(15) “interlocutory application"  means  an application  in  any  appeal  or original petition on proceeding already  instituted  in  the  Tribunal,  but not being  a proceeding  for execution  of the  order or direction  of  Tribunal;

(16) “party’ means a person who prefers an appeal or application or petition before the Tribunal and includes respondent or any person interested in  the said appeal or application or petition including the Registrar  of Companies or the Regional Director or Central Government or State Government or official liquidator and any person who has a right  under  the Act,  or the  Reserve Bank of India Act 1934 (2 of 1934) to make suggestions or submissions or objections or reply;

(17) "petition’ means a petition or an application or an appeal or a complaint in pursuance of which any proceeding is commenced before the Tribunal;

(18) "person interested" means a shareholder, creditor, employee, transferee company  and  other  company  concerned  in  relation  to  the  term  or  context referred to in the relevant provisions of the Act or any person aggrieved by any order or action  of any company  or its  directors;

(19) "pleadings" means and includes application including interlocutory application, petition, appeal, revision, reply, rejoinder,  statement,  counter claim, additional statement supplementing the original application and reply statement  under  these  rules and  as may be permitted  by  the  Tribunal;

(20) "reference" means a reference within the meaning of rule  88  of  these rules;

(21) ‘Registrar’ means Registrar of the Tribunal and  includes  such other officer of the Tribunal or Bench to whom the powers and functions of the Registrar  is delegated;

(22) “Registry" means the Registry of the Tribunal or any of its Benches, as the case may be, which keeps records of the applications and documents relating thereto;

(23) "Reserve Bank" means the Reserve Bank of India and includes its branches and agencies as defined in the Reserve Bank of India Act,  1934  (2 of 1934);

(24) “Sealed" means sealed with the seal of the  Tribunal;

(25) ‘Secretary" means Secretary of the Tribunal and in the absence of Secretary, such other officer of the Tribunal to  whom  the  powers  and functions  of the  Secretary  are delegated.

(26) "secured creditor" means  a  creditor  in  whose  favour  a  security  interest is created;

(27)"security Interest" means right, title or interest or a claim to property, created in favour of, or provided for a secured creditor by a transaction which secures payment or performance of an obligation  and  includes  mortgage, charge, hypothecation, assignment and encumbrance or any other agreement or arrangement securing payment or performance of any obligation of any person:

Provided that  security interest shall not include a performance guarantee.

(28)  “section’ means a section of the  Act;

(29) "transferred application" or "transferred petition" means any proceeding which has been transferred to the Tribunal from the Company Law Board, the High Court, District Court, Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction as provided in clause (a), (c) and (d) of sub—section( 1) of section 434 of the Act;

(30) words and expressions used herein  and  not  defined  but  defined  in  the Act  shall have  the  respective  meanings  assigned  to  them  in the Act.

Amendment 

1. Omitted as per the MCA Notification for The National Company Law Tribunal (Amendment) Rules, Dated 20th December, 2016.

Original Content: 

(a) in clause (5), the words "interlocutory application" shall be omitted;

  2. Substituted  as per the MCA Notification for The National Company Law Tribunal (Amendment) Rules, Dated 20th December, 2016.

(a)  in “Part-I”, for the heading, “Definitions, forms and etc.”, the heading “Definitions and forms etc.’ shall be substituted;

(b) In clause (9), in sub-clause (d),

for the words "or a chartered accountant or a cost accountant or a company secretary",

the words  "or a chartered accountant in practice or a cost accountant in practice or a company secretary in practice" shall be substituted.