The classification screen

4 questions before you choose the route.

This page identifies the right question and evidence. It does not determine the legal outcome on a reader’s facts.

01

Were debts mutual and pre-acceptance?

Eligibility.

Mutual
02

Was the claim acquired to manufacture set-off?

Abuse test.

Abuse
03

Declared in claims process?

Process.

File
04

Administrator position known?

Fight.

Admin

Working rule: China’s Enterprise Bankruptcy Law recognises set-off of mutual obligations arising before acceptance, with restrictions designed to prevent opportunistic acquisition of claims to manufacture set-off.

What changes the answer

The signal ledger.

These facts move the question beyond a label and into a product, money-flow and control analysis.

Signal
Ask the operating question
Why it changes the route
Buy claims post-rumour to set off
High risk.
Stop.
Skip claims filing because ‘set-off’
Process miss.
File.
Ignore contract set-off vs EBL set-off
Different rules.
Map.
Prepare before you escalate

Bring a compact evidence docket—not a pitch deck.

Give a compliance team or counsel the operating facts that reveal the perimeter.

01Contracts showing mutualityDebts.
02Timing of claim acquisitionAbuse analysis.
03Claims formsProcess.
Common confusions

Questions people ask before they build.

Short answers for orientation. The right result can change with the service model and current rules.

Is contractual set-off automatic in bankruptcy?

EBL overlays apply. Do not assume.

Where is avoidance?

Use the linked specialist resource when Set-Off in China Bankruptcy turns on detailed evidence, procedure or risk assessment.

Primary authorities

Reviewed sources support orientation, not a fact-specific assessment.

Supreme People’s Court
National laws database — Enterprise Bankruptcy Law (NPC)
SAMR enterprise registration
Ministry of Human Resources and Social Security (employee claims)