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Can a creditor challenge the monthly installment the Israeli Execution Office sets for a debtor?

Yes. A payment plan fixed by an Execution Office registrar is not final. Section 69 of the Execution Law 5727-1967 lets the registrar set installments after examining the debtor's declared means, and a creditor who believes the figure is unrealistic can object, demand a financial examination, and apply to cancel the plan if the declaration was incomplete or false. A registrar's decision can be taken to the Magistrate's Court, in most cases only with leave.

The sequence is standard. Once an enforcement file opens, the debtor is given a short window to pay in full, and can instead file a declaration of means (tatzhir) asking to pay by installments. The registrar sets a monthly figure guided by the declared income and outgoings and by minimum amounts linked to the size of the debt. The creditor receives notice and is entitled to respond, to cross-check the declaration, and to request a financial examination (hakirat yecholet) at which the debtor is questioned under oath about income, property, vehicles and transfers to relatives. A debtor who misleads the registrar risks having the plan cancelled and facing the restrictions that apply to a limited-means debtor.

For a foreign creditor the honest calculation is that installments alone rarely clear a commercial debt, because a plan of a few hundred shekels a month against a six-figure judgment runs for decades while interest and linkage keep accruing. Treat the plan as one track and asset enforcement as the other: attachment of bank accounts, salary, vehicles and real estate, plus a stay of exit order where the debtor travels. Keep the file under review, because a change in the debtor's circumstances is grounds to ask for the installment to be raised. The debtor side of the same process is set out in the guide to the Execution Office payment plan.

⚖ In Practice
  • Governing law: Sections 7A and 69, Execution Law 5727-1967; leave to appeal a registrar's decision under Section 80(b)
  • Competent authority: Execution Office registrar (Rasham Hotzaa LaPoal) within the Enforcement and Collection Authority
  • Deadline: an application for leave to appeal a registrar's decision is generally filed within 20 days of the decision
  • Typical plans: consumer files commonly settle at NIS 150 to 500 a month, which is why creditors pair the plan with attachment of assets
  • If the plan fails: cancellation of the installments, renewed attachments, a stay of exit order, and the restrictions imposed on a limited-means debtor (hayav mugbal be'emtza'im)

From the full guide: Payment Plan at Israel's Execution Office (Hesder Tashlumim): A Complete Guide for Debtors

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Get a Free Consultation with Adv. Eli ShimonyPrepared under the direction of Adv. Eli Shimony, Eli Shimony Law Office · Editorial policy

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