Q.Who is a Company Liquidator? State any four of his powers or duties.

A Company Liquidator is the insolvency professional appointed by the Tribunal to take charge of a company's assets and conduct its winding up.

The Company Liquidator is the professional placed in charge of actually carrying out a company's winding up once the Tribunal has ordered it, or (as a voluntary liquidator) once the members have appointed him under a voluntary liquidation. He is drawn from among insolvency professionals registered with the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI), which aligns the Companies Act's winding-up machinery with the professional framework the IBC also uses.

Powers and duties (any four of the following may be stated):

1. Custody and control of assets. The liquidator takes into his custody and control all the property, effects, books of account, and actionable claims of the company.
2. Settling lists of contributories and creditors. He examines and settles who the company's contributories (members liable to contribute) and creditors are, admitting or rejecting claims as appropriate.
3. Carrying on the business, where beneficial. He may carry on the company's business so far as is necessary for its beneficial winding up — for instance, to finish an in-progress contract rather than abandon it at a loss.
4. Selling the company's property. He sells the company's movable and immovable property, and its actionable claims, by public auction, private contract, or in any other manner, and receives payment for them.
5. Raising money on security. Where necessary, he may raise money on the security of the company's assets.
6. Instituting or defending legal proceedings. He may sue or defend suits and other legal proceedings, civil or criminal, in the name and on behalf of the company.
7. Drawing/accepting negotiable instruments. He may draw, accept, and endorse bills of exchange or other negotiable instruments in the company's name, where required for the winding up.
8. Paying debts in order of priority. He pays off the company's debts and liabilities strictly in the order of priority laid down by law. …

Students sometimes describe the liquidator's role only as "selling the company's assets", missing his equally important duties of settling claims fairly, reporting to the …