Section 54: Official Receiver’s powers

54. Official Receiver’s powers (1) The Official Receiver shall have and exercise the powers set out in the Fifth Schedule. (2) Subject to subsection (3), the Official Receiver may, on such terms as he thinks appropriate— (a) sell the bankrupt’s property by public auction or public tender to one or more persons, in such parcels or in such order as he thinks fit; (b) buy in at an auction of the bankrupt’s property; (c) rescind or vary a contract for the sale of the bankrupt’s property; (d) for the purposes of paragraph (a), sell the whole of the bankrupt’s property to one person; or (e) for the purposes of paragraph (a), sell the bankrupt’s property in parcels and in any order. (3) The Official Receiver may not sell any of the bankrupt’s property until after the date fixed for the first creditors’ meeting, except where— (a) the property is perishable or likely to fall rapidly in value; (b) in the Official Receiver’s opinion, the sale of the property might be prejudiced by delay; or (c) expenses are likely to be incurred by any delay, and before selling, the Official Receiver consults a creditor or creditors whom the Official Receiver considers to be representative of the interests of creditors. (4) For the purposes of sale by public auction or public tender under subsection (2) (a), the Official Receiver— (a) may instruct a licensed auctioneer to conduct the sale; and (b) shall ensure that the sale is advertised at least twice at an interval of 7 days between the advertisements in 2 daily newspapers circulating widely in Mauritius and notice of the sale is given to the bankrupt in each case not less than 14 days before the date of the sale. (5) Subject to this Act, the Official Receiver may sell the following property of the bankrupt by private contract— (a) perishable property or property that is likely to fall rapidly in value; (b) property that is unsold after being offered for sale by public auction or public tender; [Issue 3] I14 – 38 Revised Laws of Mauritius (c) property that the Official Receiver considers unnecessary or inadvisable to sell by public auction or public tender, because of its nature, situation, value or other special circumstance; (d) property authorised by a resolution of creditors to be sold by private contract in accordance with the authority given by the creditors; and (e) company securities, Government securities and local authority securities, if sold on a securities market operated by a securities exchange licensed under the Securities Act. (6) The title of a purchaser of the bankrupt’s property from the Official Receiver under a document that is made in the exercise of the Official Receiver’s power of sale under this section— (a) cannot be challenged except on the ground of fraud; and (b) is not affected by an absence of authority to sell, or the improper or irregular exercise of the power of sale.