### Bankruptcy Ordinance 《破產條例》

33. Court’s power to annul bankruptcy order
(1) The court may annul a bankruptcy order if it at any time appears to the court that—
(a) on any grounds existing at the time the order was made, the order ought not to have been made; or
(b) to the extent required by the rules, the provable debts and the expenses of the bankruptcy have all, since the making of the order, been either paid or secured to the satisfaction of the court.
(2) The court may annul a bankruptcy order made against a debtor on a petition under section 3(1)(a), (b) or (c) if it at any time appears to the court, on an application by the Official Receiver—
(a) that the petition was pending at a time when a criminal bankruptcy order was made against the debtor or was presented after such an order was so made; and
(b) that no appeal is pending against the debtor’s conviction of any offence by virtue of which the criminal bankruptcy order was made,
and the court shall annul a bankruptcy order made on a petition under section 3(1)(d) if it at any time appears to the court that the criminal bankruptcy order on which the petition was based has been rescinded in consequence of an appeal.
(3) The court may annul a bankruptcy order whether or not the bankrupt has been discharged from the bankruptcy.
(4) Where the court annuls a bankruptcy order under this section or section 20I, any sale or other disposition of property, payment made or other thing duly done by or under the authority of the Official Receiver, a nominee or a trustee or by the court is valid, but if any of the bankrupt’s estate is then vested in such a trustee, it shall vest in such person as the court may appoint or, in default of any such appointment, revert to the bankrupt on such terms (if any) as the court may direct, and the court may include in its order such supplemental provisions as may be authorized by the rules.
(5) Where the court annuls a bankruptcy order under this section or section 20I, the court may make such order as it thinks fit respecting advertising or gazetting of the notice of the annulment and for the costs thereof.

(6) Any interested person may apply for annulment of a bankruptcy order with leave of the court.
(Replaced 76 of 1996 s. 24)

### Bankruptcy Ordinance 《破產條例》

35. Mutual credit and set-off
Where there have been mutual credits, mutual debts or other mutual dealings between a bankrupt against whom a bankruptcy order is made under this Ordinance and any other person proving or claiming to prove a debt under the bankruptcy order, an account shall be taken of what is due from the one party to the other in respect of such mutual dealings and the sum due from the one party shall be set off against any sum due from the other party and the balance of the account, and no more, shall be claimed or paid on either side respectively; but a person shall not be entitled under this section to claim the benefit of any set-off against the property of a bankrupt in any case where he had, at the time of giving credit to the bankrupt, notice that the petition had been presented.
(Amended 33 of 1939; G.N. 840 of 1940 Supp. Schedule; 76 of 1996 ss. 26, 72 & 73)[cf. 1914 c. 59 s. 31 U.K.]

36. Rules as to proof of debts
The Chief Justice may, with the approval of the Legislative Council, make rules providing for the mode of proving debts, the right of proof by secured and other creditors, the admission and rejection of proofs, and other matters.
(Replaced 33 of 1939; G.N. 840 of 1940 Supp. Schedule)[cf. 1914 c. 59 s. 32 U.K.]

### Bankruptcy Ordinance 《破產條例》

40. Landlord’s power of distress
The Landlord or other person to whom any rent is due from the bankrupt may, subject to the provisions of Part III of the Landlord and Tenant (Consolidation) Ordinance (Cap. 7), at any time either before or after the commencement of the bankruptcy, distrain upon the goods or effects of the bankrupt for the rent due to him from the bankrupt, with this limitation, that if such distress for rent be levied after the commencement of the bankruptcy, it shall be available only for 6 months’ rent accrued due prior to the date of the order of adjudication and shall not be available for rent payable in respect of any period subsequent to the date when the distress was levied, but the landlord or other person to whom the rent may be due from the bankrupt may prove under the bankruptcy for the surplus due for which the distress may not have been available.
[cf. 1914 c. 59 s. 35 U.K.]

### Bankruptcy Ordinance 《破產條例》

41. Spouse’s claim postponed
A bankrupt’s spouse shall not be entitled to claim any dividend as a creditor in respect of any money or other estate, lent or entrusted to the bankrupt until all claims of the other creditors of the bankrupt for valuable consideration in money or monies worth have been satisfied.
(Replaced 76 of 1996 s. 29)

42. Restrictions on dispositions of property
(1) Where a person is adjudged bankrupt, any disposition of property made by that person in the period to which this section applies is void except to the extent that it is or was made with the consent of the court, or is or was subsequently ratified by the court.
(2) Subsection (1) applies to a payment (whether in cash or otherwise) as it applies to a disposition of property and, accordingly, where any payment is void by virtue of that subsection, the person paid shall hold the sum paid for the bankrupt as part of his estate.
(3) This section applies to the period beginning with the day of the presentation of the petition for the bankruptcy order and ending with the vesting of the bankrupt’s estate in a trustee.
(4) This section does not give a remedy against any person—
(a) in respect of any property or payment which he received before the commencement of the bankruptcy in good faith, for value and without notice that the petition had been presented; or
(b) in respect of any interest in property which derives from an interest in property referred to in paragraph (a).
(5) Where after the commencement of the bankruptcy the bankrupt has incurred a debt to any person by reason of the making of a payment which is void under this section, that debt is deemed for the purposes of this Ordinance to have been incurred before the commencement of the bankruptcy unless—
(a) that person had notice of the bankruptcy before the debt was incurred; or
(b) it is not reasonably practicable for the amount of the payment to be recovered from the person to whom it was made.
(6) A disposition of property is void under this section notwithstanding that the property is not or, as the case may be, would not be comprised in the bankrupt’s estate; but nothing in this section affects any disposition made by a person of property held by him on trust for any other person.
(Replaced 76 of 1996 s. 30)