Page - 188 - in Austrian Law Journal, Volume 2/2021

ALJ 2021 Nunner-Krautgasser/Weidinger 188 plan proposal at the latest.48 The creditors do not have to agree to this; they can only prevent the initiation of the proceedings if they (successfully) assert an obstacle to initiation.49 According to the taxative enumeration of § 201 (1) IO, this includes, for example, intentional or grossly negligent violations of existing duties to provide information or to cooperate.50 Another requirement for the initiation of the proceedings is that the costs of the trustee to be appointed must be covered by the proceeds of the proceedings.51 In the proceedings for income levy, usually the seizable part of the income is realised in particular. The debtor must assign this portion of his income to a trustee.52 As already mentioned above, there is now the choice between two procedural instruments: In the “regular” proceedings for income levy, the duration is still53 five years. Within the framework of the recently created repayment plan, however, the duration of the procedure is only three years (§ 199 [2] IO). In return for the shorter duration of the proceedings, the debtor has to meet a higher standard of honesty,54 which is expressed by the introduction of additional procedural obstacles (cf. § 201 [2, 3] and § 210 IO). In particular, the debtor must apply for the initiation of insolvency proceedings within a period of 30 days from the date of the public announcement of the decision on evident insolvency (§ 201 [2] no. 1 IO). For insolvent consumers, the repayment plan (whose main purpose, according to the above-mentioned European Restructuring and Insolvency Directive, is an accelerated debt discharge for entrepreneurs) will only be available for five years, so according to the current legal situation, the relevant provisions for consumers will expire in July 2026 (§ 283 [9] IO). After the expiry of the three- or five-year period, the court must generally grant the discharge of residual debt and terminate the proceedings;55 a discharge of the residual debt must be granted as well in the (rare) situation that all filed insolvency claims have been satisfied in the course of the proceedings (§ 213 [1] IO). In the proceedings for income levy neither an absolute nor a relative minimum quota is required56 (the former minimum quota of 10% was abolished with the IRÄG 2017, together with the problematic debt discharge on grounds of equity).57 However, the debtor has to pursue (or at least to look for) an appropriate 48 Fadinger, JAP 2017/2018, 168 (168); Nunner-Krautgasser, ZinsO 2017, 2525 (2526); Konecny, ecolex 2017, 1160 (1163); Kodek, Insolvenzrecht2 Rz 612; Feuchtinger/Lesigang, Insolvenzrecht4 131. 49 Mohr, ZIK 2017, 97 (101); Nunner-Krautgasser, ZinsO 2017, 2525 (2528); Fadinger, JAP 2017/2018, 168 (168); Riel, AnwBl 2017, 275 (277); Dellinger/Oberhammer/Koller, Insolvenzrecht4 Rz 487. 50 Mohr, ZIK 2017, 97 (101); Konecny, ecolex 2017, 1160 (1163); Dellinger/Oberhammer/Koller, Insolvenzrecht4 Rz 518; Kodek, Insolvenzrecht2 Rz 637. 51 Kodek, Insolvenzrecht2 Rz 340. 52 Nunner-Krautgasser, ZinsO 2017, 2525 (2526); Dellinger/Oberhammer/Koller, Insolvenzrecht4 Rz 488; Fadinger, JAP 2017/2018, 168 (168); Kodek, Insolvenzrecht2 Rz 634. 53 Cf. about the previous legislation Nunner-Krautgasser, ZinsO 2017, 2525 (2525); Schneider, Privatinsolvenz3 2; Dellinger/Oberhammer/Koller, Insolvenzrecht4 Rz 534; Fadinger, JAP 2017/2018, 168 (168); Schneider, VbR 2017, 188 (190); Konecny, ecolex 2017, 1160 (1162); Mohr, ZIK 2017, 97 (97). 54 Cf. Mohr, VbR 2021, 120 (120). 55 Dellinger/Oberhammer/Koller, Insolvenzrecht4 Rz 488; Mohr, Privatinsolvenz3 Rz 621 et seq. 56 Dellinger/Oberhammer/Koller, Insolvenzrecht4 Rz 480; Kodek, Insolvenzrecht2 Rz 662. 57 Riel, AnwBl 2017, 275 (277); Kodek, Zak 2017, 147 (147).