New Delhi,  The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Mumbai, has accepted the application by IL&FS to initiate the process of striking off IIPL Laos Pte. Ltd.

IIPL Laos is an "offshore IL&FS entity" in the IL&FS group, which was incorporated on April 24, 2017 under the laws of Singapore for the development of a project in Laos.

It is the subsidiary of ITNL International Pte Limited (IIPL), which in turn is a wholly owned subsidiary of IL&FS Transportation Networks Limited (ITNL). The applicant is holding approximately 73 per cent shareholding in ITNL.

Due to non-receipt of regulatory approvals, the project work did not materialise and hence IIPL Laos has not commenced any business since its inception and there are no operations in the company.

Hence, no separate asset divestment process was carried out with respect to IIPL Laos and the applicant proposes to strike off IIPL Laos before the Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (ACRA), Singapore, in accordance with the laws of Singapore.

The Board of Directors of ITNL at its meeting has approved the process for striking off of IIPL Laos. The cost for the process will be borne by IIPL and ITNL.

The Board of Directors of IIPL and IIPL Laos vide its respective resolution consented for the striking off of IIPL Laos.

The Board of IL&FS on May 7 had given its consent for filing requisite applications with ACRA for striking off of IIPL Laos. Justice (retd.) D.K. Jain has also given his approval for striking off of IIPL Laos, subject to the approval of the RBI for remittance of funds by ITNL, directly or indirectly, required for the process of striking off IIPL Laos in accordance with the laws of Singapore and presentation of the proposal before the NCLT.

After hearing both the sides and on perusal of records, the bench was of the view that the striking off of the company was the best option in the given scenario.