Can an approved plan be changed?
Yes. Article 107 permits amendment and makes it the creditor meeting’s exclusive competence. A creditor committee or individual participants cannot replace the meeting’s decision. Allocating competence for particular transactions does not transfer the power to amend the plan itself.
The general external administration guide covers introduction and the initial plan. Here the issue is different: documents to prepare when approved measures or deadlines no longer match the situation.
What changes need justification?
Article 106 requires recovery measures, their implementation, costs and timing to be connected with a substantiated ability to restore solvency. A new version should therefore do more than move calendar dates. Explain why the original model changed and how the replacement supports payment.
| Changed component | Explanation | Supporting records |
|---|---|---|
| Cash source | Why the old source is unavailable and its replacement | Contracts, funding confirmation and receivables records |
| Measure deadlines | Delay causes and a realistic schedule | Actual dates, contract terms and timing assessment |
| Costs | Full measure costs and effects on funds for creditors | Budget, cash-flow calculation and supporting evidence |
| Assets and transactions | Effects on production and payment | Asset list, required valuations and approvals |
A comparison of current wording, proposed wording, reasons and supporting evidence is useful. Identify retained and deleted provisions and changed financial assumptions. This is a practical way to make the proposal verifiable; the law does not make such a table a guarantee of approval.
Hypothetical example, not a reported case. A plan expected RUB 12 million from a receivable by a set date. The proposal replaces that source with sale of unused equipment. Compare expected net proceeds, preparation and sale time, costs and production effects. The same nominal sum alone does not establish an equivalent replacement.Considering and documenting amendments
- 1. Prepare the proposal
Wording, explanations and revised financial model. - 2. Give creditors access
Notice and materials for assessment. - 3. Consider at the meeting
Agenda, decision and minutes. - 4. Submit court records
Approved plan and evidence of adoption.
Article 107 provides for notice and access to the plan at least fourteen days before the meeting. The approved plan is submitted to court within five days of the meeting. Amendments follow the plan consideration procedure. Check that creditors receive the actual version put to the vote, rather than the old file.
For review, collect the current plan and minutes, proposed text, explanations, calculations and evidence for inputs, notice and access records, new minutes and attachments. Inconsistent version numbers or unclear decision wording make it harder to establish exactly what was approved.
Initial preparation and first-meeting deadlines run from appointment of the external administrator; amendment does not restart the whole procedure. Do not treat a new version as resetting elapsed time. A change to the court-established procedure duration requires Article 108 assessment.
Plan amendment versus procedural extension
Article 108 provides for court extension, including where a meeting approves or amends a plan requiring longer than initially established, within statutory limits. Another route concerns a meeting decision following the final report. Minutes alone do not replace the court’s extension order.
Plan content
Measures, money, costs and schedule agreed by creditors.
Procedure duration
The period established and extended by the commercial court.
Legal maximum
Rewording cannot extend the period while ignoring Articles 92 and 93.
Article 93’s general rule is up to eighteen months, extendable by no more than six months unless the law provides otherwise. Article 92 limits combined financial rehabilitation and external administration to two years. Consider actual earlier procedure time, rather than just the new plan date. Article 108(2) determines the extension-consideration procedure.
What can a creditor check?
Compare the new text with the existing plan, register, actual receipts and current obligations. Ask whether the funding source is substantiated, costs accounted for, delays addressed, creditor rights respected and the duration lawful. Approval does not guarantee every forecast will materialise.
Where rights are infringed, Article 107(6) permits a motion in the bankruptcy court to invalidate the plan in whole or part. Substantiate the particular infringement. Judicial challenge and proposing amendment are different remedies; commercial disagreement alone does not establish invalidity.
Frequently asked questions
Is a creditor committee decision sufficient?
No. Plan approval and amendment belong exclusively to the creditor meeting.
Can the plan file simply be replaced?
No. The consideration procedure is required. Participants must understand which version was proposed and adopted.
Does external administration time restart?
Plan amendment does not reset the procedure. Extension and legal limits are assessed separately.
Does the meeting itself extend the procedure?
Its decision is considered under Article 108, but the commercial court extends the court-established period.
How can an infringing plan be challenged?
Article 107(6) permits full or partial judicial invalidation on the motion of a person whose rights are infringed.
Legal sources
- Article 106: plan requirements.
- Article 107: consideration, amendment and rights.
- Article 108: court extension.
- Article 93: external administration duration.
- Article 92: combined procedure duration.
Check the proposed amendments
Prepare both versions, minutes and financial calculations. A consultation can assess adoption, duration and effects on your rights.
Discuss plan amendments →