Rule 5 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 5 says that fees for registering designs and for other matters under the Designs Act and Rules are those in the First Schedule, and then sets out how they may be paid. Its sub-rule (2) was changed in 2021: the fee difference is now payable when an application moves from a natural person, startup or small entity to a different kind of applicant. If you are budgeting for an industrial design registration, this is the rule that decides what you pay and how.
Fees are those specified in the First Schedule. They may be paid in cash at the office, or by cheque or demand draft on a scheduled bank; stamps and Indian postal orders are not accepted. An applicant or agent may deposit money in advance once in a financial year. Since 2021, if an application filed by a natural person, startup or small entity is transferred to another kind of person, the fee difference is paid by the new applicant with the request for transfer.
Source note
This article follows the Rules as notified in 2001 and the Designs (Amendment) Rules, 2021 (G.S.R. 45(E)). The 2021 text substituted clause (e) of rule 5(2), omitted clause (f) and added an Explanation. The earlier amendment of 2014 (G.S.R. 925(E)) is not in the sources consulted, and later amendments should be checked. The Act's own fee provision is section 24 of the Designs Act, 2000.
Rule 5(1): fees are in the First Schedule
"The fees to be paid in respect of the registration of designs, and application therefor, and in respect of other matters, with relation to Designs Act and rules framed there under, shall be those as specified in the First Schedule of the rules."
The First Schedule was replaced in 2021 and now has two fee columns: one for "natural person(s) and/or Startup(s) and/or Small entit(y)/(ies)" and one for others, alone or with natural persons, startups or small entities. For example, as per the Schedule as substituted in 2021, entry 1 (application for registration under sections 5 and 44, Form 1) shows Rs 1000 in the first column and Rs 4000 in the second. Read the heads and amounts in our article on the First Schedule, and check the current Schedule before paying.
Rule 5(2): how fees are paid
| Clause | What it says |
|---|---|
| (a) | Cash at the office, or cheque or demand draft on a scheduled bank payable to the Controller at Calcutta. If sent by post, registered post, speed post or courier, payment is deemed made when the properly addressed, prepaid letter would be delivered in the ordinary course of mail. |
| (b) | Cheques or demand drafts that do not carry the correct commission, or whose full value cannot be collected in cash within the time allowed for payment, are accepted only at the Controller's discretion. |
| (c) | Stamps and Indian postal orders are not accepted. |
| (d) | Advance deposit, with approval, once in a financial year, subject to the proviso. |
Clause (a) still names "Calcutta" and its wording is that of 2001. It is quoted as the rule's text, not as current practice; confirm the current mode of payment with the office.
Clause (d): advance deposit
"Subject to the approval of the competent authority any applicant or an agent may deposit money in advance once in a financial year and request the Controller to realise any fee payable by him from the said deposit." The date of payment is "the date of the receipt of the request to realise the fee or the date on which the request to realise the fee is deemed to have been received, which ever is earlier". The proviso is that the requisite amount must be at the credit of the person making the request.
Clause (e), as substituted in 2021
The new clause reads: "In case an application processed by a natural person and/ or startup and/ or small entity is fully or partly transferred to a person other than a natural person, startup or small entity, the difference, if any, in the scale of fees between the fees charged from the natural person, startup or small entity and the fees chargeable from the person other than a natural person, startup or small entity in the same matter, shall be paid by the new applicant with the request for transfer."
- Who pays: the new applicant, with the request for transfer, not later.
- What: the difference "if any" between the two columns of the Schedule in the same matter, on a full or partial transfer.
Clause (f) and the Explanation
Clause (f) was omitted in 2021. The text consulted does not show its earlier wording. The 2021 text then adds an Explanation: where a startup or small entity that filed an application "ceases to be a startup or small entity due to the lapse of the period during which it is recognised by the competent authority, or its turnover subsequently crosses the financial threshold limit as notified by the competent authority, no such difference in the scale of fees shall be payable".
Drafting slip: the amendment says the Explanation is inserted "after sub-rule (e)"; (e) is a clause of sub-rule (2). Read it as following clause (e).
Wrong claims to a lower fee
Form 24, which a person files to claim startup or small entity status, carries a note: using the reduced fee on incorrect information "would mean that the entire fee did not accompany the document, as mandated by rule 5(2)(b)", and under section 24(2) "the filing of the document shall be of no effect unless the fee has been fully paid".
Illustrations (invented)
Transfer. Meera Das, a natural person, files in the first column and assigns the application to Orbit Fittings Pvt. Ltd., which is neither a startup nor a small entity. Orbit pays the fee difference with the request for transfer.
Lapse of recognition. Saral Pack Pvt. Ltd. files as a startup, and later its recognition period ends. By the Explanation no fee difference is payable for that reason alone.
What the rule does not say
- It states no fee amount, describes no online payment, and does not define a small entity (clause (ea) is not in the text consulted).
Need help with design fees?
Choosing the correct fee column and paying in a way the office accepts avoids an application being treated as not properly filed. Our industrial design registration team can check eligibility for the lower column, prepare Form 24 and pay the fees for you.
Key takeaways
- Fees are those in the First Schedule, which has two columns since 2021.
- Cash, cheque or demand draft are accepted; stamps and Indian postal orders are not.
- Advance deposit is allowed once in a financial year with approval, and must be backed by credit.
- A transfer to a person outside the lower column needs the fee difference with the request for transfer.
- No difference is payable where a startup or small entity ceases to qualify after filing.
- The 2014 amendment is not in the sources consulted; check later amendments.
Read next
- Rules 3-4: leaving and serving documents and address for service
- First Schedule: fees for registration, renewal and other matters
- Design registration fee schedule: all categories
Disclaimer: Based on the Designs Rules, 2001 as notified and the Designs (Amendment) Rules, 2021, as consulted on 1 October 2026. Other amendments may apply; fees and forms change from time to time. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.