Rule 10 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.
Rule 10 is the fee rule. It says that fees are those in the First Schedule, that every form or request must come with its fee, how the fee may be paid, what happens if the fee is missing or short, how a refund is made and how electronic payment may be introduced.
The prescribed fees are those in the First Schedule, and a form, application or request must be accompanied by the prescribed fee. Payment may be by cash, money order, bank draft or cheque on a scheduled bank. A document filed without fee, or with insufficient fee, is deemed not to have been filed for the purposes of any proceedings under the Rules (rule 10(5)). Electronic fee transfer is available only after the Registrar notifies it in the Geographical Indications Journal.
Rule 10(1) and (2): the First Schedule and the duty to attach the fee
Rule 10(1) says the fees to be paid in respect of applications, oppositions, registration, renewal or any other matters under the Act or the Rules "shall be those specified in the First Schedule", called the prescribed fees. This ties to the fee power in the Act; see our article on sections 80 and 81 of the GI Act.
Rule 10(2) says that where a fee is required to be paid, the form, application or request or petition must be accompanied by the prescribed fee. Rule 11(2) repeats that any form filed at the Registry must be accompanied by the prescribed fee. The fee is part of the filing, not something to follow later, which is why a GI registration file should be costed before it is lodged.
The First Schedule was substituted as a whole by the Amendment Rules, 2025 (G.S.R. 812(E), 3 November 2025). It is the only fee table now in force, so any older table, or any amount printed inside an old form text, must not be used. Our article on the First Schedule goes through every entry; this article does not repeat the amounts.
Rule 10(3) and (4): how to pay
Rule 10(3) allows fees to be paid:
- in cash;
- by money order addressed to the Registrar of Geographical Indications; or
- by a bank draft issued by, or a cheque drawn on, a scheduled bank at the place where the appropriate office of the Registry is situated.
If the fee is sent through the post, it is deemed paid when the money order, or the properly addressed bank draft or cheque, would be delivered in the ordinary course of post.
Rule 10(4) adds that bank drafts and cheques must be crossed and made payable to the Registrar at the appropriate office, and drawn on a scheduled bank at the place where that office is situate.
| Mode | Condition in the Rules |
|---|---|
| Cash | Allowed under rule 10(3) |
| Money order | Addressed to the Registrar of Geographical Indications |
| Bank draft | Issued by a scheduled bank at the place of the appropriate office; crossed; payable to the Registrar |
| Cheque | Drawn on a scheduled bank at that place; crossed; payable to the Registrar |
| Post | Deemed paid at the time of delivery in the ordinary course of post |
Because rule 4(2) routes everything to the Head Office for now, the place of the "appropriate office" for payment purposes follows that rule. See our article on rules 3 to 6.
Rule 10(5): no fee or short fee
Rule 10(5) is the sharpest part of the rule. Where a fee is payable in respect of filing a document and the document is filed without fee or with insufficient fee, "such document shall be deemed to have not been filed for the purposes any proceedings under the rules". The sentence is printed with "purposes any proceedings", a small slip in the text; its meaning is plain.
The consequences can be serious:
- A notice of opposition or a counter-statement filed with short fee is treated as not filed. If a time limit has run out, the deadline may be lost.
- An application filed with short fee has no filing date from that filing.
- The rule gives the Registrar no express power to call for the balance and keep the original date. Whether time can be extended depends on the extension provisions discussed in our article on extension of time in GI proceedings, and the Rules should be read for each particular time limit.
Practical safeguard: check the entry number in the First Schedule, count the number of classes, and remember the entries with two rates (a rate for a geographical indication application and another for an authorised user application).
Rule 10(6): refunds
Where any fee paid by a party is ordered to be returned by the Registrar under the Act or the Rules, the amount may be refunded by money order, in which case the money order commission is deductible from the amount. For one case in which the Rules order repayment, see rule 22(2) on search fees, covered in our article on classification of goods and the request for search.
Rule 10(7): electronic fee transfer
Rule 10(7) allows the Registrar, "after notification in the Geographical Indications Journal", to make electronic fee transfer facilities available "subject to such conditions as may be specified". The Rules themselves do not describe any portal or online procedure. Whether and how electronic payment is available is therefore a matter of the notification in the Journal and not of the text of the Rules; check the current position with the Registry.
A worked example
Konkan Spice Growers' Association, an invented body, wants to file an application. It prepares its form, calculates the fee from the First Schedule as substituted in November 2025 and obtains a crossed bank draft payable to the Registrar on a scheduled bank in the place of the appropriate office. It sends the form and draft together by post. Under rule 10(3) the fee is deemed paid when the properly addressed draft would be delivered in the ordinary course of post. Had the association sent too little, rule 10(5) would treat the document as not filed. All names are invented.
Need help with GI fees and filing?
A wrong amount or an uncrossed draft can cost an applicant a filing date. We help producer groups and their advisers prepare complete filings, including the fee workings; our GI registration service covers that preparation.
Key takeaways
- The prescribed fees are those in the First Schedule, as substituted in November 2025.
- Every form or request must be accompanied by its fee (rules 10(2) and 11(2)).
- Payment is by cash, money order, or a crossed bank draft or cheque on a scheduled bank at the place of the appropriate office.
- A document filed without fee or with short fee is deemed not filed (rule 10(5)).
- Refunds ordered by the Registrar may be paid by money order less commission.
- Electronic fee transfer needs a prior notification in the Journal.
- Check for amendments after 3 November 2025.
Read next
- First Schedule: fees for applications, oppositions, renewal and other matters
- Rules 11-12: forms, size of documents and electronic filing
- Rules 7-9: leaving of documents, wrong office and issue of notices
Disclaimer: Based on the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Rules, 2002 as notified on 8 March 2002 and as amended by the Amendment Rules of 2020 (G.S.R. 528(E)) and 2025 (G.S.R. 812(E)), as consulted on 2 October 2026. Later amendment rules, forms and fees should be checked in their current form. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.