Explainer · Insolvency · IBC
The IBC CIRP Timeline (180 and 330 Days) Explained (2026)
The corporate insolvency resolution process under the IBC runs on a clock. Section 12 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016 says it must finish within 180 days from the day the process starts, with one extension of up to 90 days, taking it to 270 days, and an outer limit of 330 days that includes any time spent in litigation. Those numbers, 180, 270 and 330, confuse a lot of people, because they add up in a particular way and the courts have read the outer limit with some flexibility. This explainer sets out exactly how the timeline works, who can extend it, and what happens when it runs out. Last verified October 2026.
- Base period: 180 days from the insolvency commencement date under Section 12(1).
- Extension: one extension of up to 90 days, to 270 days, on a 66 percent CoC vote approved by the NCLT.
- Outer limit: 330 days including time spent in litigation, added by the 2019 amendment.
- Flexibility: the Supreme Court in the Essar Steel case read "mandatorily" as an outer limit, allowing more time in exceptional cases.
01The short answer
Under Section 12 of the IBC, a CIRP must be completed within 180 days from the insolvency commencement date. The committee of creditors can vote, by at least 66 percent, to extend it once by up to 90 days, taking the total to 270 days, and the NCLT must approve the extension. On top of that, a 2019 amendment set an outer limit of 330 days, which includes any time spent in litigation. The Supreme Court later softened the word "mandatorily" so that, in exceptional cases, a process can run a little beyond 330 days.
02When the clock starts
The clock starts on the insolvency commencement date, which is the day the NCLT admits the case and the process begins. This is the same day the Section 14 moratorium takes effect. Every deadline in the CIRP is counted from this date, not from when the petition was filed, so a long delay before admission does not eat into the 180 days.
This matters because the full roadmap of the process, from the public announcement to the resolution plan, has to fit inside the timeline that starts here. For the stage-by-stage walk through the process itself, see the stages of the CIRP.
03The 180 and 270 day periods
Here is how the first two numbers fit together.
| Period | How long | How it is granted |
|---|---|---|
| Base period | 180 days | Automatic from the insolvency commencement date, Section 12(1) |
| Extension | Up to 90 more days | One time only, on a 66 percent CoC vote, approved by the NCLT |
| Extended total | 270 days | The base period plus the single extension |
Two points often missed. First, the extension is a single extension of up to 90 days; the committee cannot keep extending in stages. Second, the extension is not automatic. The resolution professional applies on the strength of a committee of creditors vote of at least 66 percent, and the NCLT decides whether to grant it. On the voting threshold, see what the committee of creditors does.
04The 330-day outer limit
The 270-day figure was not the end of the story. In 2019, an amendment added an outer limit to Section 12(3): a CIRP must be completed within 330 days from the insolvency commencement date, and this 330 days includes the time spent in litigation over the process.
The 330-day outer limit is not an extra 60 days on top of 270. It is a hard ceiling that counts in the time a case spends tied up in appeals and challenges.
This was the key change. Before it, parties could stretch a process far past 270 days by litigating, and the time lost in court did not count. The 330-day limit was meant to stop that by folding litigation time into the ceiling. The well-known Essar Steel insolvency, which reportedly ran well beyond 800 days, was the backdrop to this reform.
05When courts allow more
Soon after the 330-day limit came in, the Supreme Court softened its hard edge. In the case known as Committee of Creditors of Essar Steel India Limited v. Satish Kumar Gupta, reported at (2020) 8 SCC 531, the Court read down the word "mandatorily" in Section 12(3), holding it to be an outer limit rather than an absolute bar.
The effect is that, in exceptional cases, the NCLT or NCLAT can allow a process to run a little beyond 330 days, for example where the time would otherwise be exceeded for reasons outside the parties control, and where completing the resolution is clearly better for all stakeholders than pushing the company into liquidation. So the 330-day figure is the rule, and going past it is the carefully limited exception, not a routine escape.
06What happens when time runs out
If the timeline expires without an approved resolution plan, the default outcome is liquidation. Section 33 lets the NCLT order liquidation when no plan is received or approved within the period, when the committee of creditors decides to liquidate, or when an approved plan is contravened.
So the clock is not just a target; missing it has a real consequence. The choice at the end of the line is between a resolution plan that rescues the company as a going concern and a liquidation that sells its assets. To see how that fork works, see liquidation versus resolution under the IBC, and for the plan itself, see how a resolution plan is approved.
07Where Claw fits
Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.
Because the CIRP clock counts in litigation time, following where a matter sits in its timeline means following its hearings and orders at the NCLT and NCLAT. Claw finds and then tracks a company insolvency across these forums, alongside its wider litigation across 9,102 courts, benches and forums, with constant monitoring that reports New filings, Changed movement and Closed disposals and sends alerts, so an extension order, an appeal or a liquidation order does not slip past you. Judgment and order search spans 30 crore+ judgments and orders, including Supreme Court decisions from 1950 and High Court decisions from 1990, returning results in under 5 seconds, and Claw does not use your searched names or documents to train its AI models. "Nothing on record" means nothing was found in these registries on the date searched under the names searched.
To follow an insolvency through its timeline and read how courts have applied the 330-day limit, run a case search across Indian courts.
08Sources and further reading
- India Code (Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, Section 12): indiacode.nic.in
- Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India: ibbi.gov.in
- National Company Law Tribunal: nclt.gov.in
- Claw: clawlaw.in
This explainer is general information, not legal advice. The Code and its reading by the courts can change, so check the current text and recent rulings before you rely on it.
09Frequently asked questions
What is the CIRP timeline under the IBC?
Under Section 12 of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code, 2016, a corporate insolvency resolution process must be completed within 180 days from the insolvency commencement date. It can be extended once by up to 90 days, to 270 days, on a 66 percent vote of the committee of creditors approved by the NCLT, subject to an outer limit of 330 days that includes time spent in litigation.
What do 180, 270 and 330 days mean?
The 180 days is the base period. The 270 days is the base period plus one extension of up to 90 days. The 330 days is a separate outer limit added in 2019 that caps the whole process, including any time the matter spends in litigation, so it is a hard ceiling rather than an extra 60 days on top of 270.
Can a CIRP go beyond 330 days?
In exceptional cases, yes. In the Essar Steel case, reported at (2020) 8 SCC 531, the Supreme Court read down the word "mandatorily" in Section 12(3) and treated 330 days as an outer limit rather than an absolute bar. The NCLT or NCLAT can allow a little more time where the delay is outside the parties control and resolving the company is clearly better than liquidating it.
Who can extend the CIRP period?
The resolution professional applies for an extension on the strength of a committee of creditors vote of at least 66 percent, and the NCLT decides whether to grant it. The extension is a single extension of up to 90 days; the committee cannot keep extending the process in stages.
What happens if the CIRP timeline expires?
If the period ends without an approved resolution plan, the default outcome is liquidation. Section 33 lets the NCLT order liquidation when no plan is received or approved in time, when the committee of creditors decides to liquidate, or when an approved plan is contravened.