Manual explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
The Manual of Patent Office Practice and Procedure is the Indian Patent Office's own description of how it handles a patent application, from filing to grant, opposition and renewal. Version 3.0 was published by the Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks on 26 November 2019. It tells you what the Office does in practice; it does not tell you what the law is.
The Manual is a practical guide, not legislation. The Manual is the Patent Office's guidance and does not have the force of law; the Patents Act, 1970 and the Patents Rules, 2003 as now in force prevail. It was issued in 2019, so several periods and procedures in it have since changed: the request for examination period, the working statement, extensions of time, the appeal forum and the penalty provisions. Use it to understand how the Office behaves, and check every period, fee and form against the Act and Rules as now in force.
The Office revises its manuals from time to time, so the current version on ipindia.gov.in should always be checked before you rely on any procedure described here.
What the Manual says about itself
The Controller General's preface calls the Manual a practical guide for prosecuting patent applications in India and says in terms that it "does not constitute rule making and, hence, does not have the force and effect of law" (Preface). It adds that the Manual will be revised in the light of court decisions, amendments and stakeholder inputs.
Chapter 1, para 4 goes further: the Manual is meant to spell out Office practice and bridge an information gap, and it "is not intended to be the interpretation" of the Act and Rules. Para 12 reminds the officers who exercise delegated powers under section 73(2) that they must decide on the Act, Rules and judicial decisions, not on the Manual alone, although they are expected to follow the Manual's procedures uniformly.
For an applicant this has a practical meaning. If an examiner's objection rests only on a line of the Manual and the Act does not support it, you are entitled to say so in your reply and ask for the statutory basis. If the Manual and the Rules differ, the Rules decide. A patent drafting and filing professional reads the two together for exactly this reason.
What the Manual covers
Chapter 1 sets out the plan. Chapters 3 to 8 deal with the filing side: ordinary, convention and PCT national phase applications, patents of addition, divisionals and the Office's role as International Searching Authority. Chapters 9 to 11 cover examination, grant and oppositions. Chapters 12 to 14 deal with appeals, revocation and compulsory licensing, and the remaining chapters cover Government use, patent agents, offences, the Controller's general powers, services, scientific advisers, miscellaneous matters and time lines.
The table below gives TaxClue's own map of the 22 chapters and how current each one is. "Overtaken" means a later change in law has displaced the Manual's description; the linked post or the Act and Rules as now in force prevail.
| Chapter | Subject | Position today |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Introduction and common procedures | Current in substance |
| 2 | Key definitions | Read with the section 2 and rule 2 posts |
| 3 | Filing of applications | Form 3 timing, fee heads and extensions changed in 2024 |
| 4 | Publication | Check periods against the rule post |
| 5 | Provisional and complete specification | Current in substance |
| 6 | Divisional and patent of addition | Rule 13(2A) added in 2024 |
| 7 | Convention, international and national phase | Check periods and fees against the rules |
| 8 | Office as ISA / IPEA | Restates the PCT rules |
| 9 | Examination and grant | Request for examination period changed in 2024; section 3(k) para deleted by CRI 2025 |
| 10 | Post-grant opposition | Opposition Board period changed in 2024 |
| 11 | Post-grant procedures | Form 27 and renewal timing changed in 2024; IPAB wording overtaken |
| 12 | Appeals | IPAB abolished in 2021 |
| 13 | Revocation | Forum is now the High Court |
| 14 | Compulsory licensing | Restates sections 84 to 94 |
| 15 | Government use | Restates sections 99 to 103 |
| 16 | Patent agents | Restates the agent rules; one rule changed in 2024 |
| 17 | Offences and penalties | Overtaken by the Jan Vishwas Act, 2023 |
| 18 | General powers of the Controller | Rules 137 and 138 replaced the old extension scheme |
| 19 | General services | Check against the current service list |
| 20 | Scientific advisers | Restates rules 103 to 107 |
| 21 | Miscellaneous | Read with the Act |
| 22 | Time lines | Several periods changed in 2024 |
The common procedures in Chapter 1
Para 13 of Chapter 1 lists four working rules that apply across the Manual.
- Evidence. Evidence in proceedings before the Controller is given by affidavit, unless the Controller directs otherwise. The Manual adds that a self-declaration signed before a Controller empowered to receive evidence may be admitted if the Controller allows it.
- One copy. Where a document must be filed in original in the e-filing system, only one copy is submitted to the appropriate office.
- Latest document is final. The latest document the applicant files is treated as final, and the earlier one is deemed superseded and cancelled. This matters when you file a corrected specification or a replacement form: file the complete document, not a patch.
- Power of attorney. A power of attorney in Form 26 must be stamped under the Indian Stamps Act.
These are practical, and they explain why the Office returns incomplete or unstamped authorisations.
What has changed since November 2019
Five developments sit across the Manual. For each, the Manual states one thing and the current law states another.
- Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2024. The Manual describes a request for examination within a longer period than the one now prescribed; the period is now set by rule 24B. It also describes the working statement as a yearly filing. Form 27 is now filed once for every period of three financial years under rule 131. The 2024 Rules also changed Form 3 timing (rule 12), added further divisionals (rule 13(2A)), reworked the pre-grant representation procedure (rule 55), the Opposition Board period (rule 56(4)), renewal fees in advance (rule 80(3)), the extension and condonation scheme (rules 137 and 138), the grace period application (rule 29A), the certificate of inventorship (rule 70A) and the whole First Schedule of fees. Read our posts on rule 24B and rule 131 for the two changes that affect most applicants.
- Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021. The Manual still refers to the Intellectual Property Appellate Board in its appeal and revocation chapters. The Board has been abolished and those matters now go to the High Court; see IPAB dissolution and the current appeal routes.
- Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023. Penalties in the offences chapter have been replaced for the IP provisions with adjudicated penalties. Do not rely on Chapter 17 for what a contravention now costs.
- CRI Guidelines, 2025. Their para 6 deletes the Manual's paragraph on section 3(k) (computer programmes). Never rely on that paragraph; use the CRI Guidelines 2025 scope and four limbs instead.
- Fees. The Manual prints 2019 fee figures. The First Schedule has since been substituted, so take amounts only from the current schedule.
How to use the Manual in practice
Start with the chapter that matches your stage. For a new filing, read Chapter 3 with the documents required for filing. For a first examination report, read Chapter 9 and the periods in Chapter 22. For anything with a time limit, work from the Rules first and the Manual second.
If you need a filing handled end to end, our patent drafting and filing service follows the Act, the Rules and the Office's current practice together.
| What you are checking | Where to look first | Then |
|---|---|---|
| A period or deadline | The rule post | Chapter 22 for the Office's list |
| A fee | The current First Schedule | Never the Manual's figures |
| A form number | The current list of forms | The Manual's description of what it does |
| What the examiner usually asks | The Manual chapter | Your reply on the Act and Rules |
| Appeal or revocation forum | The High Court posts | Not Chapters 12 or 13 |
A short worked example
Anaya Rao Labs, a start-up, receives a notice that quotes the Manual on the period for requesting examination. Its agent reads the Manual, notes that it states an older period, then checks the rule as now in force and files on that basis. The point is the order of reading: the Manual explains what the Office will do on receiving the request, the Rules say by when it must be filed.
Need help with applying the Manual correctly?
If you are unsure whether a Manual instruction still applies to your application, we can map it against the Act and Rules as now in force and prepare the filing accordingly. Start with our patent drafting and filing team.
Key takeaways
- The Manual is the Patent Office's guidance and has no force of law; the Act and Rules prevail.
- Version 3.0 is dated 26 November 2019 and predates the 2021, 2023 and 2024 changes.
- Chapter 1, para 13 gives four common procedures: affidavit evidence, one copy, latest document final and stamped Form 26.
- Take periods, forms and fees from the Rules and current schedules, not from the Manual.
- Do not use the Manual's section 3(k) paragraph; the CRI Guidelines 2025 deleted it.
Read next
- Chapter 3: documents required for filing and comprehensive e-filing
- Chapter 22: time lines and which periods changed in 2024
- Request for examination under rule 24B
- Pharmaceutical Patent Guidelines 2014: scope and Markush claims
Disclaimer: Based on the manuals and guidelines published by the Office of the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks that are named in the article, as consulted on 4 October 2026. They are guidance and do not have the force of law; the Patents Act, 1970 and the Patents Rules, 2003 as amended (including the 2024 amendment rules) prevail, and the current versions on ipindia.gov.in should be checked. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.