Vama in bankruptcy court, Italy's Gas Jeans seeks unpaid dues

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
May 31, 2018

Vama, a 25,000-square-foot multi-brand clothing store in South Mumbai’s Cumbala Hill, has ended up in bankruptcy court after Gas Jeans has claimed that it is owed Rs 22 lakh ($32,586) by the business.

The Italian denim brand Gas Jeans claims that Vama owns it Rs 22 lakh but the counsel representing Vama, Suvarna Joshi, has replied that the actual dues owed only amount to Rs six lakh. However, Vipul Shukla, the counsel for Gas Jeans has accused Vama of failing to produce appropriate evidence.

“Vama was directed to produce its ledgers in the tribunal [National Company Law Tribunal- NCLT] but instead of that, they have just mentioned a few details in a simple statement,” said Shukla, as reported by Livemint.

The NCLT tribunal took place on May 8 and both parties are currently waiting to hear what will happen next. If the petition by Gas Jeans to recover Rs 22 lakh under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) is accepted, then bankruptcy proceedings will begin in order to recover the money for Gas Jeans. Deadlines will then be set for Vama’s resolution and liquidation. The Presiding Officer at the NCLT tribunal, M.K. Shrawat, has the matter currently reserved for order.

The case was originally filed by Gas Jeans at the Mumbai High Court in 2015 by the business’ Indian unit. The case was transferred to the NCLT after the IBC was enacted.