Archive · 11 Sep 2026
Mumbai NCLT Rejects Jet Airways Boeing Refund Plea
Jet Airways had paid Boeing money in advance for airplanes.
The airplanes were never delivered.
Jet Airways later entered insolvency proceedings, meaning it could not pay its debts normally.
Its liquidator asked Boeing to return about $92.129 million.
Boeing said the money had already been counted against the money Jet Airways owed Boeing.
The Mumbai NCLT said it would need to examine the contracts and disputed facts to decide who was right.
It said this kind of detailed contract dispute could not be decided through its limited insolvency procedure.
The tribunal therefore rejected the liquidator’s application.
The Mumbai NCLT dismissed Jet Airways liquidator Satish Kumar Gupta’s plea for a $92.129 million refund from Boeing.
The payments were advances and pre-delivery amounts for Boeing 737-8 and Boeing 787-9 aircraft that were never delivered.
The tribunal said the dispute depended on contractual questions and disputed facts beyond its summary jurisdiction under Section 60(5) of the IBC.
Boeing argued that the advance payments had already been adjusted or netted against its claim against Jet Airways.
Boeing’s claim was admitted at Rs 721.19 crore during resolution proceedings and later increased to Rs 873.78 crore during liquidation.
- Who
- Jet Airways’ liquidator Satish Kumar Gupta and Boeing Company were parties to the dispute, which was decided by the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal.
- What
- The NCLT dismissed a request for Boeing to refund $92.129 million in aircraft advance and pre-delivery payments.
- When
- The order was delivered on September 11, 2026; the aircraft purchase agreements were entered into in 2013.
- Where
- The case was decided by the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal.
- Why
- The tribunal held that the dispute required examination of contractual terms and disputed facts beyond its summary jurisdiction under Section 60(5) of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code.
Liquidator’s Position
Boeing’s Position
Treatment of advance payments
Liquidator’s Position
The $92.129 million in advance and pre-delivery payments belonged to Jet Airways’ liquidation estate and should be returned because Boeing did not deliver the aircraft.
Boeing’s Position
The payments had already been adjusted or netted against Boeing’s claim against Jet Airways.
NCLT jurisdiction
Liquidator’s Position
The liquidator sought directions from the NCLT to recover money allegedly retained without a contractual or legal basis.
Boeing’s Position
The dispute involved contractual interpretation and disputed facts that could not be decided through the NCLT’s summary jurisdiction under Section 60(5) of the IBC.
- Refund sought
- $92,129,387 in advance and pre-delivery payments
- Aircraft agreements
- Boeing 737-8 and Boeing 787-9 aircraft
- Agreement year
- 2013
- Boeing performance suspension
- Issued in May 2019 after Jet Airways failed to make certain further payments
- Jet Airways insolvency process
- Corporate insolvency resolution process began in June 2019
- Boeing claim
- $275.33 million, with Rs 721.19 crore admitted during resolution proceedings
- Claim during liquidation
- Increased to Rs 873.78 crore because of currency fluctuations