India's National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has issued notice to Boeing about an appeal by the liquidator of defunct Jet Airways, seeking a refund of USD92.12 million in advance payments for aircraft that were never delivered.
The appeal, filed by liquidator Satish Kumar Gupta, challenges a September 11 order by the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), which dismissed his application for the refund of advance and pre-delivery payments made under aircraft purchase agreements, India's Live Law Biz reports.
Jet Airways entered into two agreements with Boeing in 2013 for the purchase of B737-8 and B787-9 aircraft, paying the US manufacturer USD92,129,387 in advance and pre-delivery payments.
Boeing acknowledged receiving the funds but subsequently suspended performance of its contractual obligations in May 2019 after the airline failed to meet certain payment obligations amid financial difficulties.
Jet Airways entered corporate insolvency resolution proceedings in June 2019. Boeing issued termination notices in December 2020, alleging material breaches of the purchase agreements. It had not delivered any aircraft under the contracts and subsequently removed 125 B737-8s and ten B787-9s associated with Jet Airways from its backlog.
During the insolvency proceedings, Boeing submitted a claim of USD275.33 million. Of this, INR7.21 billion rupees (USD77 million) was admitted, which rose to NR8.74 billion (USD93 million) during liquidation due to currency fluctuations.
Gupta subsequently sought to recover the USD92.12 million in advance payments, arguing that the funds formed part of Jet Airways' liquidation estate. Boeing opposed the application, maintaining that the payments had been adjusted against its outstanding claim and that no refund was due.
The NCLT dismissed the application, finding that resolving the dispute would require examination of the underlying purchase agreements, which neither party had placed on record, as well as evidence concerning Boeing's suspension and termination of the contracts and its treatment of the advance payments. It held that the competing contractual claims and set-off issues could not be determined under its summary jurisdiction in terms of Section 60(5) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.
However, in an order dated November 3, 2026, seen by ch-aviation, the NCLAT said the matter required consideration and issued notice to Boeing. The manufacturer's legal representatives accepted notice and were granted two weeks to file a response, with the liquidator given a further week to file a rejoinder.
An appeal hearing is scheduled for December 7, 2026.
