MOSCOW, February 6 (RAPSI) – The State Duma has proposed raising the ceiling for personal bankruptcy declarations from 50,000 to 300,000 rubles ($8,580), Rossiyskaya Gazeta reports Thursday.

The personal bankruptcy bill, which the Russian government submitted and the State Duma adopted in the first reading in November 2012, is designed to amend the laws that regulate financial rehabilitation procedures for individual debtors.

According to the current bill, debtors are offered the opportunity to restructure their debt repayment based on available or potential revenues. Those whose loan arrears exceed 50,000 rubles and who have not paid loan interest for three months may file for bankruptcy. The bill also gives this right to the bankruptcy receiver and the concerned state agency. The bill stipulates a five-year debt restructuring period.

It has now been proposed to raise the debt ceiling to 300,000 rubles, which means that the bill will mostly affect debtors with home mortgages and car loans, as well as those who have taken out too many small consumer loans.