NCLT Rejects Jet Airways' Liquidator Plea for Rs 500 Cr from Boeing

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has rejected Jet Airways' liquidator's plea to recover Rs 500 crore from Boeing. The tribunal observed that the matter involves a contractual dispute over pre-delivery/advance payments, requiring detailed adjudication and evidence.

Jet Airways had entered into agreements with Boeing in 2013 for the purchase of two aircraft, but Boeing suspended the agreements in May 2019 due to payment delays. After Jet Airways went into Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) in June 2019, Boeing lodged a claim before the Resolution Professional for dues under the aircraft purchase agreement.

The NCLT bench said that questions of whether Boeing was justified in suspending and terminating the contracts, forfeiting the advance, and claiming set-off were disputed issues requiring evaluation of the underlying agreements. The tribunal stated that these questions require 'evaluation of agreements between the parties, leading of evidence by the Parties and a full-fledged Trial.'

Jet Airways had paid USD 92.13 million as advance/pre-delivery payments to Boeing for aircraft that were never delivered. The liquidator sought a refund of this amount, but Boeing argued that the advance payments had already been adjusted against its larger admitted claim and stood extinguished through set-off under Regulation 29 of the IBBI (Liquidation Process) Regulations, 2016.