Interim Resolution Professional (IRP)

IBC, 2016 — Section 16

The insolvency professional appointed by the NCLT when it admits a CIRP petition under the IBC. The IRP's term continues "till the date of appointment of the resolution professional under section 22" (Section 16(5)); the earlier 30-day cap was replaced in 2018. The IRP takes over management of the corporate debtor and calls for claims from all creditors. On a financial creditor's Section 7 application, the resolution professional proposed in the application is appointed as IRP if no disciplinary proceedings are pending against him (Section 16(2)).

In practice, the IRP is the first person on the ground once the NCLT admits a CIRP petition under Section 16 of the IBC, 2016, and the early weeks they control often decide a creditor's outcome. The IRP takes over management of the corporate debtor and issues a public announcement calling for claims, so a creditor's immediate task is to file its claim in the correct form, with supporting documents, within the stated window — a missed or under-documented claim can shrink a creditor's place in the eventual distribution. The IRP also collates claims and constitutes the Committee of Creditors, which is when financial creditors' voting share is fixed; an incorrectly admitted or rejected claim therefore affects who controls the resolution. Disputes over claim admission and the verification done in this phase, which lasts until the resolution professional is appointed under Section 22, are common flashpoints. Creditors file complete, proof-backed claims promptly so the IRP admits them at full value.