SpiceJet-Wilmington Trust SP Services in deadlock over rental agreement

SpiceJet told the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Tuesday that aircraft lessor Wilmington Trust SP Services is not entitled to receive rental amounts from them as the invoices raised by them vested the right of payment to Aircastle (Ireland) and not Wilmington.
 
The airline had also told the court earlier that Wilmington had failed to produce any document on record under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 (IBC) to suggest debt, if any, was assigned in its favour. So Wilmington is ‘not an operational creditor’, the airline said and added that there is no record in their lease as well as in subsequent amendment to indicate that Wilmington was to receive any lease rentals from Spicejet.
 
Refuting the claims by Spicejet, Wilmington’s counsel said that ‘it has no option but to place the Amendment Agreement on record’. “However... the said Amendment Agreement never came into force due to blatant breach of said Agreement Amendment by the Corporate Debtor (Spicejet),” they submitted.
 

 

In the invoice issued by Aircastle (Ireland) on June 10, 2022, for the amount due from October 21 to November 2022, the amount due is $367,388. This is as per the lease agreement on February 5, 2021.
 
Spicejet said that as per the repayment schedule of arrears they received, the total amount due from February to December alone was $1,560,011.
 
Wilmington also said that they are the owners of the aircraft, which was disputed by Spicejet. The airline also said that the due amount payable to the lessor is on the delivery date of the aircraft. The aircraft lessor contested this, saying that the rent starts from the day of the agreement.

 
The court asked the parties to file their written submissions. The next date of hearing is on December 18.
 
The low-cost airline had earlier told the court that the owner in Wilmington’s case was not the company that had filed the petition but BOC Aviation Limited, which had transferred it to Aircastle (Ireland) Limited. Spicejet argued that the amendment to the lease agreement of February 5, 2021, had no mention of Wilmington.
 
Wilmington had argued that the lease agreement was in the name of the lessor and even the registration of aircraft by the Director General of Civil Aviation was made in its name.
 
The lessor on Tuesday said that they had filed their written reply but it was not visible on the NCLT website.