How to file a claim for bankruptcy in Slovakia?

The declaration of bankruptcy by a debtor is an extremely unpleasant situation for any creditor. If you want to ensure that bankruptcy hasn't been declared on your debtor, you can search in the Commercial Bulletin or Register of Insolvents. If your concerns are confirmed, you can proceed by submitting your claim in the bankruptcy proceedings. We are happy to assist you with submitting your claim.

• Submitting a Claim
• Deadline for Submitting the Claim
• What If I Miss the Deadline?
• Filing a Claim Based on Power of Attorney
• Filing a Secured Claim
• Filing a Future or Conditional Claim
• Requirements of the Claim
• Attachments to the Claim
• Representative for Service of Documents
• Deficiencies in the Claim

Submitting a Claim

The procedure for submitting a claim is regulated by Act No.  7/2005 Coll. on Bankruptcy and Restructuring, and amendments to certain laws.

Claims (that are not claims against the estate) are enforced in bankruptcy by submitting a claim. You must file the claim electronically via the designated electronic form to the electronic mailbox bankruptcy trustee.The claim must be authorized. You can find the trustee to whom the claim will be submitted on the central public administration portal.

Deadline for Submitting the Claim

The claim must be delivered to the trustee within the basic filing period of 45 days from the declaration of bankruptcy.

What If I Miss the Deadline?

If the creditor submits the claim later, the claim is still considered. However, the creditor cannot exercise voting rights or other rights associated with the submitted claim.

Although the right to proportional satisfaction of the creditor is not affected, the creditor may only be satisfied from the proceeds allocated in the distribution from the general estate. The entry of such a claim into the list of claims is published by the trustee in the Register of Insolvents, stating that the claim was submitted after the basic filing deadline.

Filing a Claim Based on Power of Attorney

If the claim is submitted by a creditor's representative, a power of attorney drafted in paper form must be delivered electronically by converting it to an electronic form and attaching it to the claim. The provisions of special regulations on guaranteed conversion do not apply.

If the power of attorney drafted in electronic form or according to the previous sentence is not attached to the claim, the claim will not be considered.

You can also authorise your attorney. If you are interested in having us file your claim, feel free to contact us..

Filing a Secured Claim

If it is a secured claim, the security right must also be properly and timely asserted in the claim, within the basic filing period of 45 days from the declaration of bankruptcy. Otherwise, the security right will not be considered.

Filing a Future or Conditional Claim

You may also assert a future claim or a claim whose existence is conditional — so-called conditional claim. However, the rights associated with a conditional claim can only be asserted by the conditional creditor after they prove the existence of the conditional claim to the trustee.

Submitting the claim to the trustee has the same legal effects on the statute of limitations and the extinguishment of the right as asserting the right in court.

Even a creditor who has a claim against someone other than the bankrupt party but has a secured right related to the bankrupt's property must submit a claim. Such a creditor can only be satisfied in bankruptcy from the proceeds gained by selling the property that secures their claim, and they may exercise voting rights at the creditors' meeting only to the extent that their claim is likely to be satisfied from the property that secures it.

If such a creditor does not submit their secured claim within the basic filing period, the secured right will not be considered in the bankruptcy. However, the creditor retains the right against the estate to the extent that the estate has been unjustly enriched, and they may assert this right as a claim against the estate, which will be satisfied only after all other claims against the estate have been settled.

Requirements of the Claim

The claim must include basic details or it will not be consideredThe basic details are:

• Name, surname, and residence of the creditor, if it is an individual, or the business name, name, and surname if different from the business name, identification number or other identifying data, and place of business of the creditor, if it is an individual entrepreneur, or the name, identification number or other identifying data, and seat of the creditor, if it is a legal entity,
• Name, surname, and residence of the bankrupt party, if it is an individual, or the business name, name, and surname if different from the business name, identification number or other identifying data, and place of business of the bankrupt party, if it is an individual entrepreneur, or the name, identification number or other identifying data, and seat of the bankrupt party, if it is a legal entity,
• Legal reason for the claim,
• Order of satisfaction of the claim from the general estate,
• Total amount of the claim.

For each secured claim, you must submit a separate claim stating the secured amount, type, order, subject, and legal reason for the security right's creation.

For a conditional claim, you must also state the fact upon which the claim is based or the condition upon which the claim depends.

The total amount of the claim is divided into principal and accessories in the claim. The accessories are divided according to the legal reason for their creation.

The claim must be asserted in euros. If the claim is not asserted in euros, the trustee will determine the amount by conversion according to the reference exchange rate set and published by the European Central Bank or the National Bank of Slovakia on the day of the declaration of bankruptcy. If the claim is in a currency for which neither the European Central Bank nor the National Bank of Slovakia sets a reference exchange rate, the trustee will determine the amount with due professional care.

Attachments to the Claim

Documents proving the facts stated in the claim must be attached. A creditor who is an accounting entity must include a declaration in the claim stating whether the claim is recorded in the accounting system, to what extent, or the reasons why it is not recorded. In practice, this might include a certificate of ownership of financial instruments, an extract from the internal records of a securities trader, a contract based on which the claim arose, etc.

For a non-monetary claim, an expert opinion determining the value of the non-monetary claim must be attached; otherwise, the claim will not be considered.

Representative for Service of Documents

A creditor who does not have a residence, seat, or branch of their business on the territory of the Slovak Republic must appoint a representative for service of documents with a residence or seat in the Slovak Republic and must notify the trustee in writing of this appointment. Otherwise, documents will be delivered to them only by publication in the Commercial Bulletin.

Anyone who, based on a reservation of ownership, could otherwise request the exclusion of an item from the inventory, may assert their rights in bankruptcy by submitting a claim as if asserting a security right. Such a creditor authorizes the trustee through the claim to inventory and sell the item with the reservation of ownership. The provisions governing the status of a secured creditor apply to such a creditor.

Deficiencies in the Claim

The trustee, without undue delay after the basic filing period, submits to the court a list of submissions that they consider not to be claims. Subsequently, the court will, without undue delay, issue a resolution determining whether these submissions are considered claims. The resolution is delivered to the trustee, who informs the affected parties.

You cannot later correct or supplement the submission by which the claim was asserted.

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