Learn how Lovely Boats secures yacht sales with PPSR, ensuring priority in repossession. Understand registration process insights.
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What are retention of title arrangements?
Entering into a retention of title arrangement usually involves supplying goods to someone on written credit terms with the promise that you'll get the goods back if you don't get paid. This creates a security interest in the goods you've supplied. You can register this interest on the PPSR to give you the best chance of getting your goods back if your customer doesn't pay.
Generally a retention of title (ROT) arrangement creates a security interest in goods if:
- you have a written agreement to supply goods to someone,
- that agreement says that after you supply the goods they’ll pay you later – in other words, it creates a debt owed to you and
- the goods don't belong to the customer until they are paid for.
Why register your interests?
Security interests come about from ROT arrangements, are special kinds of interests called a purchase money security interests (PMSIs). PMSIs have higher priority than other types of security interests over the same item of property because you gave them the credit to allow them to get the goods in the first place.
For more information, see Is your security interest a PMSI and Priorities and rankings.
If you don’t register your retention of title security interest on the PPSR, you will be an unsecured creditor. This gives you much less chance of getting your money or goods back if your customer can't pay and goes out of business.
What if I make regular supplies to the same customer?
It is common to make repeated supplies of goods to the same customer.
In this case, many suppliers will make one registration over the same grantor and collateral class that can cover multiple supplies. This is because a single registration will cover one or more security interests.
In the cases of serial numbered goods you may need to make additional registrations. You may also need to make multiple registrations if some of the goods in the collateral class are purchase money security interests (PMSIs) and some are not. This is because claiming your security interest is a PMSI when it isn't can have serious consequences; see Is my registration a PMSI for more information.
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