Bankruptcy Law

An inventory of the debtor's assets and liabilities as well as the guarantees that encumber them must be drawn up as soon as the procedure is opened . In a safeguard procedure, in order to minimize production costs, it may be drawn up by the debtor himself, provided that it is certified by a statutory auditor or attested by a chartered accountant . In such a case, Article R. 622-4-1 of the Commerc …

Inventory of the debtor's assets and liabilities

An inventory of the debtor's assets and liabilities as well as the guarantees that encumber them must be drawn up as soon as the procedure is opened . In a safeguard procedure, in order to minimize production costs, it may be drawn up by the debtor himself, provided that it is certified by a statutory auditor or attested by a chartered accountant . In such a case, Article R. 622-4-1 of the Commercial Code specifies that the debtor must keep the receiver, where one has been appointed, and the legal representative informed of the progress of the operations. It adds that the debtor must attach to the inventory a list of the assets and liabilities assigned as security or held as a deposit, rental or lease before filing it with the court registrar and giving a copy to the receiver, if one has been appointed, and to the legal representative. If the debtor does not initiate the inventory operations within eight days from the opening judgment or does not complete them within a period fixed by the judgment, the bankruptcy judge shall designate a judicial auctioneer, a bailiff, a notary or a sworn goods broker (courtier en marchandises assermenté)  to proceed with or complete them.

They may also be appointed ab initio . Article R. 622-4 of the Commercial Code specifies that the debtor or his known successors must be present or called at the time of the inventory. The text adds that the debtor must give to the person appointed to draw up the inventory the list of assets and liabilities pledged, granted or placed under customs supervision as well as the list of assets that he holds in deposit, rental or leasing, or under reservation of ownership or, more generally, that are likely to be claimed by third parties. The inventory is deposited at the court registrar by the person who made it. The latter shall give a copy to the debtor, to the receiver, where one has been appointed, and to the legal representative.

Article L. 622-6 adds that "[t]his inventory, given to the receiver and the legal representative, shall be completed by the debtor by mentioning the assets and liabilities he holds that may be claimed by a third party. The receiver, who is not obliged to compensate for the debtor's failure to draw up and deposit the inventory, is not required to check whether any property in the debtor's assets is likely to be claimed .

Where the debtor is an individual entrepreneur with limited liability, he shall also enter therein the assets and liabilities held within the framework of the activity for which the procedure have been opened, which are included in another of his assets and which he may request to be taken over under the conditions provided for by Article L. 624-19.

An incomplete, summary or unusable inventory is equivalent to the absence of a compulsory inventory provided for by Article L. 622-6 of the Commercial Code . An inventory is incomplete when the auctioneer (commissaire-priseur) does not itemize the spare parts claimed by a creditor, which benefit from a title retention clause (clause de réserve de propriété), although the creditor has provided a detailed listing . In the absence of an inventory , or in the case of an incomplete inventory , the burden of proving that the goods claimed by a creditor, which remained in the possession of the debtor at the time of the insolvency procedure and the performance of the continuity plan, no longer existed in kind on the day of the opening judgment, lies with the legal representative who represents him. If the latter is unable to provide this proof, the action for reclamation is admissible . Moreover, a debtor who does not allow the auctioneer to draw up an inventory of his assets by barring him from his premises and does not allow the receiver to devise a plan by refusing to transmit the slightest accounting element and the list of his creditors, cannot contest the conversion of the proceedings .

Finally, under Article L. 653-8 of the Commercial Code, the debtor's failure to cooperate in the completion of the inventory is punishable by a management ban.

C. com. Law No 622-6-1. See for an application CA Douai, 26 November 2013, LawLex202100005231JBJ.

CA Chambéry, 6 November 2018, LawLex202200000709JBJ (LJ).

Cass. com., 27 September 2016, LawLex202100005232JBJ (LJ).

CA Bordeaux, 22 November 2021, LawLex202200000711JBJ (S).

CA Grenoble, 8 October 2020, LawLex202200000712JBJ (S).

Cass. com., 1 December 2009, LawLex202100001542JBJ (LJ).

CA Douai, 5 June 2014, LawLex202100005233JBJ (LJ) ; CA Grenoble, 8 October 2020, cited above.

Cass. com., 25 October 2017, LawLex202100001653JBJ (LJ).

Bankruptcy Law

93. Inventory of the debtor's assets and liabilities

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93. Inventory of the debtor's assets and liabilities

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Les décisions de justice citées dans ce paragraphe :

Les notions juridiques connexes

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