Corporate Restructuring, Valuation and Insolvency · Application for Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process

Filing of Application under Section 9 IBC by an Operational Creditor

Updated 11 October 2026 · Fact-checked

Section 9 lets an operational creditor file an application before the Adjudicating Authority to start CIRP. You can file once ten days pass after the section 8 demand notice or invoice is delivered, with no payment and no dispute notice. You attach prescribed documents. The AA decides within fourteen days.

Understand Filing of Application under Section 9

An operational creditor is owed money for goods or services, such as a supplier or a service provider. The Code gives such a creditor a route to insolvency, but only after a formal demand. Section 9 is the filing stage that follows the section 8 demand.

The trigger is timing and silence. After the expiry of ten days from the date of delivery of the demand notice or invoice, the creditor must check two things. Has the corporate debtor paid? Has the debtor sent a notice of dispute? If the answer to both is no, the creditor may file. The word is "may". Filing is a choice.

The application goes to the Adjudicating Authority in the form and manner prescribed, with the prescribed fee. Along with it the creditor must furnish proof that the debt is unpaid and undisputed. This is why the documents matter. The AA decides on paper, so an incomplete file is the commonest reason for trouble.

The creditor may also propose a resolution professional to act as interim resolution professional. The AA then has fourteen days from receipt of the application to admit or reject it. CIRP commences from the date of admission, not from the date of filing or demand.

So think of section 9 as a gate. The creditor must show: a demand was delivered, ten days passed, no payment, no dispute, a complete file, and a clean proposed professional.

Key rules to remember

When the creditor may file: Filing allowed = 10 days after delivery of demand notice or invoice (s. 8(1)) + no payment + no notice of dispute under s. 8(2); The ten days run from delivery, not from the date of the notice.
Documents to furnish with the application (s. 9(3)): (a) copy of invoice or demand notice; (b) affidavit that no dispute notice has been given; (c) copy of certificate from the financial institution maintaining the creditor's accounts confirming no payment, if available; (d) record with an information utility confirming no payment, if available; (e) any other proof or prescribed information; Clauses (c) and (d) apply "if available". Clauses (a) and (b) are always required.
Time for the AA's decision: Order within 14 days of receipt of the application; The AA either admits or rejects by order and communicates it to both parties.
Grounds for admission (s. 9(5)(i)): Application complete + no payment of the unpaid operational debt + invoice or notice delivered + no dispute notice received or recorded in the information utility + no disciplinary proceeding pending against the proposed RP; All conditions must be met together.
Grounds for rejection (s. 9(5)(ii)): Incomplete application, or payment made, or no invoice or notice delivered, or dispute notice or record of dispute, or disciplinary proceeding pending against the proposed RP; Any one ground is enough.
Cure for a defective application: Notice to rectify the defect within 7 days of receipt of the notice; The AA must give this notice before rejecting for incompleteness.
Commencement: CIRP commences from the date of admission; Section 9(6).

How to solve Filing of Application under Section 9 questions

Use this order for any problem or case on a section 9 application. It follows the section itself, so you show provision, analysis and conclusion.

1Identify the parties. Confirm the applicant is an operational creditor and the debt is an operational debt, and the debtor is a corporate debtor.
2Check the demand. Was an invoice or demand notice under section 8(1) delivered? Note the date of delivery.
3Count ten days from delivery. Filing before the period expires is premature.
4Check the debtor's response. Look for payment, or a notice of dispute under section 8(2), or a dispute record in the information utility.
5List the documents under section 9(3) and mark which are present, which are missing and which are only needed if available.
6Consider the proposed IRP. If one is proposed, check that no disciplinary proceeding is pending against that person.
7Apply section 9(5): admit if all conditions are met, reject if any ground exists. For a defect in the file, mention the seven-day rectification notice.
8Conclude with the outcome and its effect: CIRP commences from the date of admission.

Quickest way: The 10-2-5 check

When to use it: Use when time is short and the question asks whether the application will be admitted or rejected.

10: Were ten days over after delivery of the demand?
2: Any payment or any dispute? If yes, rejection follows.
5: Run the five admission conditions in section 9(5)(i): complete file, no payment, notice delivered, no dispute, no pending disciplinary proceeding against proposed RP.
If only the file is incomplete, say the AA gives seven days to rectify before rejecting.
Write the conclusion in one line and cite section 9(5).

Common mistakes in Filing of Application under Section 9

Saying CIRP starts when the application is filed.
Students link the start of the process with the creditor's action.
Fix: Write that CIRP commences from the date of admission under section 9(6).
Treating the bank certificate and information utility record as always compulsory.
The list of documents looks like a fixed checklist.
Fix: Note that clauses (c) and (d) carry the words "if available". The invoice or demand notice and the affidavit are always needed.
Filing or approving filing before ten days have passed.
Students count from the date printed on the notice, not from delivery.
Fix: Count ten days from the date of delivery of the notice or invoice.
Ignoring a dispute that existed before the demand notice.
Students read only the section 8 reply as a dispute.
Fix: Check also the information utility record. Section 9(5)(ii)(d) rejects where a dispute notice is received or there is a record of dispute. Where facts raise a pre-existing dispute, discuss it as an issue and use the case law you have studied.
Rejecting at once for an incomplete application.
Students forget the proviso.
Fix: State that the AA must first give notice to rectify the defect within seven days of receipt of that notice.
Mixing up section 9 with section 95.
Both deal with creditors' applications.
Fix: Section 9 is for corporate debtors by operational creditors. Section 95 concerns creditor applications against individuals and partnership firms, with a fourteen-day demand period.

Worked examples

Example 1

Sharma Packaging Pvt. Ltd. supplied goods worth ₹18,00,000 to Kaveri Foods Ltd. A demand notice was delivered on 1 March. No payment came and no dispute notice was received. On 8 March Sharma Packaging filed a section 9 application. Advise on the validity of the filing.

Show the solution

Provision: under section 9(1), the creditor may file only after the expiry of ten days from delivery of the demand notice or invoice, if no payment or dispute notice is received.
Facts: notice delivered on 1 March. Ten days expire on 11 March. The filing was on 8 March, only seven days after delivery.
Analysis: the statutory waiting period had not expired, so the condition for filing was not met. The right to file had not arisen.
Conclusion: the application is premature and is liable to rejection. Sharma Packaging should wait until the ten days have expired, confirm that no payment or dispute notice has come, and then file.

Answer: The filing on 8 March is premature because ten days had not expired from delivery on 1 March. The creditor should file after the period ends, if there is still no payment or dispute.

Example 2

Mehta Logistics, an operational creditor, files a section 9 application against Orion Steel Ltd. for ₹40,00,000 with the invoice copy and affidavit, but omits the application in the prescribed form's required annexure and does not attach any information utility record, as none exists. The AA finds the file incomplete. Discuss what happens.

Show the solution

Provision: section 9(3) requires a copy of the invoice or demand notice and an affidavit that no dispute notice was given. The bank certificate and information utility record are required only if available.
Facts: the invoice and affidavit are filed. The information utility record is absent because none exists, which is permissible under the words "if available".
Analysis: the real defect is the missing annexure, which makes the application incomplete. Incompleteness is a ground for rejection under section 9(5)(ii)(a).
Procedure: before rejecting, the AA must give notice to rectify the defect within seven days of receipt of that notice.
Conclusion: Mehta Logistics should supply the annexure within seven days. If it does, and the other admission conditions are met, the AA may admit within the statutory scheme. If not, the AA may reject.

Answer: The missing information utility record is not a defect, but the missing annexure is. The AA must give seven days to rectify before rejecting. If rectified, the application can be admitted.

Exam tips

Quote the sub-section numbers: 9(1) for filing, 9(3) for documents, 9(5) for admission and rejection, 9(6) for commencement.
Learn the two lists in section 9(5) as mirror images. Examiners often hide a single rejection ground in the facts.
For case questions, follow provision, facts, analysis, conclusion. Show the date counting for the ten days clearly.
Mention the seven-day rectification proviso whenever the file is incomplete.
Remember the fourteen-day period binds the AA's order, and CIRP begins on admission.

Practice questions from Application for Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process

Filing of Application under Section 9: frequently asked questions

Who can file an application under section 9 of the IBC?

An operational creditor can file it before the Adjudicating Authority. It must first have delivered a demand notice or invoice under section 8(1). The creditor may file if, after ten days from delivery, there is no payment and no notice of dispute.

What documents are required for a section 9 application?

You need a copy of the invoice or demand notice and an affidavit that no dispute notice has been given. You also furnish a financial institution's certificate and an information utility record confirming non-payment, if available, and any other prescribed proof.

How long does the NCLT take to decide a section 9 application?

The Adjudicating Authority must pass an order within fourteen days of receipt of the application, either admitting or rejecting it. Before rejecting for an incomplete application, it gives seven days to rectify the defect.

Can the operational creditor propose an interim resolution professional?

Yes. Section 9(4) allows the creditor to propose a resolution professional to act as interim resolution professional. The application can be rejected if a disciplinary proceeding is pending against the proposed person.

When does CIRP start after a section 9 application?

CIRP starts from the date the application is admitted under section 9(5). It does not start on the date of filing or on the date of the demand notice.