Re Bele & Co Pty Ltd

In the matter of Re Bele & Co Pty Ltd, the plaintiff, Bele & Co Pty Ltd, sought an order that the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) pay money held in respect of the deregistered company. The dispute centred on whether section 601AH(3)(d) of the Corporations Act 2001 (Cth) empowered the Court to order ASIC to pay money to the plaintiff without the reinstatement of the company. The matter was heard in the Federal Court of Australia.

The legal issues that the Court had to decide included whether the Court had the authority to order ASIC to pay the money to the plaintiff without first reinstating the company, and if the Court could order reinstatement of the company and payment of the money, what the terms of such reinstatement should be. The Court had to interpret the relevant provisions of the Corporations Act to determine its powers and the appropriate terms of any reinstatement order.

The Court held that section 601AH(3)(d) did not empower it to order ASIC to pay the money to the plaintiff without reinstatement of the company. The Court reasoned that the provision was specifically concerned with the terms of reinstatement, not the payment of money. The Court further determined that an order for reinstatement was appropriate and set out the terms of such reinstatement, including the appointment of liquidators and the conditions under which the company would be wound up. The Court ordered that ASIC pay the money to the plaintiff upon the reinstatement of the company under the specified terms.

In summary, the Court found that it could not order ASIC to pay the money without reinstatement and ordered the reinstatement of the company under specified terms, with the payment of the money to follow.