NCLT says Sale and Leaseback Can Constitute Financial Debt Under IBC

The applicants purchased cloud-storage “Particles” and immediately leased them back to the corporate debtor for 120 months against guaranteed monthly returns. NCLT found that the arrangement transferred substantially all risks and rewards of ownership and covered the major part of the assets' economic life, bringing the liability within Section 5(8)(d) as a finance lease and leading to admission of CIRP.