Chapter III Chapter III

Fees in other Courts and in Public Offices or in public offices.— Except in the Courts hereinbefore mentioned, no document of any of the kinds specified as chargeable with fees in the Schedules shall be filed, exhibited or recorded in any Court of Justice, or shall be received or furnished by any public officer, unless in respect of such document there has been paid a fee of an amount not less than that indicated in either of the said Schedules as the proper fee for such document.

The amount of fee payable in the suits specified herein shall be computed,—

1. (i) for money.— In suits for money (including suits for damages or compensation, or arrears of maintenance, of annuities, or of other sums payable periodically), according to the amount claimed;

1. (ii) for maintenance and annuities.— In suits for maintenance and annuities or other sums payable periodically—according to the value of the subject-matter of the suit, and such value shall be deemed to be ten times the amount claimed to be payable for one year;
2. (iii) for other movable property having a market-value.— In suits for movable

property other than money, where the subject-matter has a market-value, according to such value at the date of presenting the plaint;

1. (iv) In suits —

1. (a) for movable property of no market- value.— for movable property where the subject matter has no market-value as for instance in the case of documents relating to title,
2. (b) to enforce a right to share in joint family property.— to enforce the right to share in any property on the ground that it is joint family property,
3. (c) for a declaratory decree and consequential relief.— to obtain a declaratory decree or order, where consequential relief is prayed,

1. (d) for an injunction.— to obtain an injunction,
2. (e) for easements.— for a right to some benefit (not herein otherwise provided for) to arise out of land, and
3. (f) for accounts.— for accounts, according to the amount at which the relief sought is valued in the plaint or memorandum of appeal: Explanation.— In all such suits the plaintiff shall state the amount at which he values the relief sought;
   • (v) for possession of land, houses and gardens.— In suits for the possession of land, houses and gardens, according to the value of the subject-matter; and such value shall be deemed to be, where the subject matter is land, and,—
4. (a) where the land forms an entire estate, or a definite share of an estate, paying annual revenue to Government, or forms part of such an estate and is recorded in the Collector’s register as separately assessed with such revenue and such revenue is permanently settled, ten times the revenue so payable;
5. (b) where the land forms an entire estate, or a definite share of an estate, paying annual revenue to Government,

or forms part of such estate and is recorded as aforesaid and such revenue is settled, but not permanently, five times the revenue so payable;

1. (c) where the land pays no such revenue, or has been partially exempted from such payment, or is charged with any fixed payment in lieu of such revenue, and net profits have arisen from the land during the year next before the date of presenting the plaint, fifteen times such net profits but where no such net profits have arisen therefrom, the amount at which the Court shall estimate the land with reference to the value of similar land in the neighbourhood;
2. (d) where the land forms part of an estate paying revenue to Government, but is not a definite share of such estate and is not separately assessed as above- mentioned, the market value of the land;
3. (e) for houses and gardens.— Where the subject-matter is a house or garden, according to the market value of the house or garden;
   • (vi) to enforce a right of pre-emption.— In suits to enforce a right of pre-emption, according to the value (computed in accordance with clause (v) of this section) of the land, house or garden in respect of which the right is claimed;
   • (vii) for interest of assignee of land revenue.— In suits for the interest of an assignee of land revenue, fifteen times his net profits as such for the year next before the date of presenting the plaint;
   • (viii) to set aside an attachment.— In suits to set aside an attachment of land or of an interest in land or revenue, according to the amount for which the land or interest was attached:

Provided that, where such amount exceeds the value of the land or interest, the amount of fee shall be computed as if the suit is for the possession of such land or interest;

1. (ix) to redeem.— In suits against a mortgagee for the recovery of the property mortgaged;
2. (x) to foreclose.— and in suits by a mortgagee to foreclose the mortgage, or where the mortgage is made by conditional sale, to have the sale declared absolute, according to the principal money expressed

to be secured by the instrument of mortgage;

1. (xi) for specific performance.— In suits for specific performance,

1. (a) of a contract of sale, according to the amount of the consideration;
2. (b) of a contract of mortgage, according to the amount agreed to be secured;
3. (c) of a contract of lease, according to the aggregate amount of the fine or premium (if any) and of the rent agreed to be paid during the first year of the term;
4. (d) of an award, according to the amount or value of the property i n dispute;
   • (xii) between landlord and tenant.— In the following suits between landlord and tenant:—
5. (a) for the delivery by a tenant of the counterpart of a lease,
6. (b) to enhance the rent of a tenant having a right of occupancy,
7. (c) for the delivery by a landlord of a lease,
8. (d) for the recovery of immovable property from a tenant, including a tenant holding over after the determination of a tenancy,
9. (e) to contest a notice of ejectment,
10. (f) to recover the occupancy of immovable property from which a tenant has been illegally ejected by the landlord, and
11. (g) for abatement of rent, according to the amount of the rent of the immovable property to which the suit refers, payable for the year next before the date of presenting the plaint.

(1) The amount of fee payable under this Act on a memorandum of appeal against an order relating to compensation under any Act for the time being in force for the acquisition of land for public purposes, shall be computed according to the difference between the amount awarded and the amount claimed or challenged by the appellant: Provided that, where the Government is an acquiring body, it shall not be liable for payment of fee in such appeals. Explanation.— For the purposes of this sub-

-section, “amount” means the amount in dispute and it shall not include the amount of statutory benefits.

1. (2) The amount of fee payable under this Act on a memorandum of appeal against an award of a Claims Tribunal preferred under section 173 of the Motor Vehicles Act, 1988 (Central

Act 59 of 1988), shall be computed as follows:—

1. (i) if such appeal is preferred by the insurer or owner of the motor vehicle, the

full ad valorem fee leviable on the amount at which the relief is valued in the memorandum of appeal according to the scale specified under article 1 of Schedule I hereto;

1. (ii) if such appeal is preferred by any other person, one-half of the ad valorem fee leviable on the amount at which the relief is valued in the memorandum of appeal according to the said scale: Provided that if such person succeeds in the appeal, he shall be liable to make good

the deficit, if any, between the full ad valorem fee payable on the relief awarded in the appeal according to the said scale and the fee already paid by him; and the amount of such deficit shall, without prejudice to any other mode of recovery, be recoverable as an arrear of land revenue.

If the Court sees reason to think that the annual net profits or the market-value of any such land, house or garden as is specified in clauses (v) and (vi) of section 7 have or has been wrongly estimated, the Court may, for the purpose of computing the fee payable in any suit therein mentioned, issue a commission to any proper person directing him to make such local or other investigation as may be necessary, and to report thereon to the Court.

(1) If in the result of any such investigation, the Court decides that the net profits or market-value have or has been wrongly estimated, the Court, if the estimation has been excessive, may in its discretion refund the excess paid as such fee: but, if the estimation has been insufficient, the Court shall require the plaintiff to pay so much additional fee as would have been payable had the said market-value or net profits been rightly estimated.

1. (2) In such case the suit shall be stayed until the additional fee is paid. If the additional fee is not paid within such time as the Court shall fix, the suit shall be dismissed.

profits or for immovable property and mesne profits, or for an account, if the profits or amount decreed are or is in excess of the profits claimed or the amount at which the plaintiff valued the relief sought, the decree shall not be executed until the difference between the fee actually paid and the fee which would have been payable had the suit comprised the whole of the profits or amount so decreed shall have been paid to the proper officer.

1. (2) Where the amount of mesne profits is left to be ascertained in the course of the execution of the decree, if the profits so ascertained exceed the profits claimed, the further execution of the decree shall be stayed until the difference between the fee actually paid and the fee which would have been payable had the suit comprised the whole of the profits

so ascertained is paid. If the additional fee is not paid within such time as the Court shall fix, the suit shall be dismissed.

Every question relating to valuation for the purpose of determining the amount of any fee chargeable under this Chapter on a plaint or memorandum of appeal, shall be decided by the Court in which such plaint or memorandum, as the case may be, is filed, and such decision shall be final as between the parties to the suit:

Provided that whenever any such suit comes before a Court of appeal, reference or revision, if such Court considers that the said question has been wrongly decided to the detriment of the revenue, it shall require the party by whom such fee has been paid to pay so much additional fee as would have been payable had the question been rightly decided, and the provisions of sub-section (2) of Section 10, shall apply.

1. (1) Where a plaint or memorandum of appeal which has been rejected by the lower Court is ordered to be received, or where a suit is remanded in appeal for a fresh decision by the lower Court, the Court making the order or remanding the

appeal shall, where the whole decree is reversed and the suit is remanded, and may in other cases direct the refund to the appellant of the full amount of fee paid on the memorandum of appeal, and, if on second appeal the case is remanded to the trial Court, also on the memorandum of appeal in the first appellate Court.

1. (2) Where an appeal is remanded in second

appeal for a fresh decision by the lower appellate Court, the High Court when remanding the appeal may direct the refund to the appellant of the full amount of fee paid on the memorandum of second appeal.

1. (3) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-sections (1) and (2) if the order of remand does not cover the whole of the subject matter of the suit, the refund shall not extend to more than so much of the fee as would have been originally payable on that part of the subject matter in respect of which the suit has been remanded: Provided that no refund shall be ordered if the remand was occasioned by the fault of the person who would otherwise be entitled to a refund.

Where an application for a review of judgment is presented on or after the ninetieth day from the date of the decree, the Court, unless the delay was caused by the applicant’s laches, may, in its discretion, grant him a certificate authorizing him to receive back from the Collector or by way of e-payment, in the manner as prescribed, so much of the fee paid on the application as exceeds the fee which would have been payable had it been presented before such day.

Where an application for a review of judgment is admitted, and where, on the rehearing, the Court reverses or modifies its former decision on the ground of mistake in law or fact, the applicant shall be entitled to a certificate from the Court authorising him to receive back from the Collector or by way of e-payment, in the manner as prescribed, so much of the fee paid on the application as exceeds the fee payable on any other application to such Court under clause (b) and (c) of article 1 of Schedule II hereto: Provided that this section shall not entitle the applicant to such certificate where the reversal or modification is due, wholly or in part, to fresh evidence which might have been produced at the original hearing.

Where the Court refers the parties to a suit to any one of the mode of settlement of dispute referred to in section 89 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (Act 5 of 1908) and the matter is settled by one of the modes provided under section 89 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (Act 5 of 1908), the plaintiff shall be entitled to a certificate from the Court authorising him to receive back from the Collector or by way of e-payment, in the manner as prescribed, the full amount of the fee paid in respect of such plaint.

of plaint, etc.— (1) Where a plaint or memorandum of appeal is rejected on the ground of delay in its presentation or where the fee paid on a plaint or memorandum of appeal is deficient and the deficiency is not made good within the time allowed by law or granted by the Court, or the delay in payment of the deficit fee is not condoned and the plaint or memorandum of appeal is consequently rejected, the Court shall direct the refund to the plaintiff or the appellant, of the fee paid on the plaint or memorandum of appeal which has been rejected.

1. (2) Where a memorandum of appeal is rejected on the ground that it was not presented within the time allowed by the law

of limitation, one-half of the fee shall be refunded.

Wherever by agreement of parties,—

1. (i) any suit is dismissed as settled out of Court before any evidence has been recorded on the merits of the claim; or
2. (ii) any suit is compromised ending in a compromise decree before any evidence has been recorded on the merits of the claim; or
3. (iii) any appeal is disposed of before the commencement of hearing of such appeal, half the amount of all fees paid in respect of the claim or claims in the suit or appeal shall be ordered by the Court to be refunded to the

parties by whom the same have been respectively paid. Explanation (1): The expression “merits of the claim” refers to all matters which arise for determination in the suit not being matters relating to the frame of the suit, misjoinder of parties and cause of action, the jurisdiction of the court to entertain or try the suit or the fee payable, but includes matters arising on pleas of res-judicata, limitation and the like. Explanation (2): The expression “hearing of the appeal” includes the “vista” of a case filed in the appellate court.

Any fee paid by mistake or inadvertence shall be ordered to be refunded.

When a person becomes entitled to a refund of court

manner as prescribed, the amount specified therein, calculated according to the provisions of this Act.

Where a suit embraces two or more distinct subjects, the plaint or memorandum of appeal shall be chargeable with the aggregate amount of the fees to which the plaints or memoranda of appeal in suits embracing separately each of such subjects would be liable under this Act: Provided that nothing in this section shall be deemed to affect the power conferred by section 9 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (Act 5 of 1908).

When the first or only examination of a person who complains of the offence of wrongful confinement, or of wrongful restraint, or of any offence other than an offence for which police-

officers may arrest without a warrant, and who has not already presented a petition on which a fee has been levied under this Act, is reduced to writing under the provisions of the Bharatiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (Central

Act No. 46 of 2023), the complainant shall pay a fee of ten rupees, unless the Court thinks fit to remit such payment.

Nothing contained in this Act shall render the following documents chargeable with any fee:—

1. (i) Power-of-attorney to institute or defend a suit when executed by a member of any of the Armed Forces of the Union not in civil employment.
2. (ii) Application for certified copies of documents or of any other purpose in the

course of a criminal proceeding presented by or on behalf of the Government to a criminal Court.

1. (iii) Written statements called for by the Court after the first hearing of a suit.
2. (iv) Application or petition to a Collector

or other officer making a settlement of land-

revenue, or to a Board of Revenue, or a

Commissioner of Revenue, relating to matters connected with the assessment of land or the ascertainment of rights thereto or interests therein, if presented, previous to the final confirmation of such settlement.

1. (v) Application relating to a supply for irrigation of water belonging to Government.
2. (vi) Application for leave to extend cultivation, or to relinquish land, when presented to an officer of land-revenue by a person holding, under direct engagement with Government, land of which the revenue is settled, but not permanently.
3. (vii) Application for service of notice of relinquishment of land or of enhancement of rent.
4. (viii) Written authority to an agent to distrain.
5. (ix) First application (other than a petition containing a criminal charge or information) for the summons of a witness or other person

to attend either to give evidence or to produce a document or in respect of the production or filing of an exhibit not being an affidavit made for the immediate purpose of being produced in Court.

1. (x) Bail-bonds in criminal cases, recognizances to prosecute or give evidence, and recognizances for personal appearance or otherwise.
2. (xi) Petition by a prisoner, or other person in duress or under restraint of any Court or its officers.
3. (xii) Complaint of a public servant as defined in the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (Central Act No. 45 of 2023), a municipal officer, or an officer or servant of a Railway Company.
4. (xiii) Application for the payment of money due by Government to the applicant.
5. (xiv) Applications for compensation under any law for the time being in force relating to the acquisition of property for public purposes.