Rule 61 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 61 requires the Registrar of Geographical Indications to send a written reminder when a registration is about to expire and no renewal application has come in. It also deals with registrations that were granted late, so that their renewal is not lost before the proprietor has had a fair chance to pay.
Between one and three months before the last registration expires, if no renewal application with the prescribed fee has been received, the Registrar must write to the registered proprietor or authorised user on Form O-3 or Form O-5. For a registration granted within six months before renewal fell due, or after it fell due, the renewal fee may be paid within six months of the actual date of registration. If it is not, the Registrar removes the entry, subject to rule 63. The rule implements section 18 of the Act.
What rule 61(1) requires of the Registrar
Rule 61(1) fixes a window. The Registrar must act "at a date not less than one month and not more than three months before the expiration of the last registration" of a geographical indication or an authorised user. The trigger is simple: no application on Form GI-4 (for the indication) or on the authorised user form, "together with the prescribed fee", has been received by then.
When the trigger is met, the Registrar "shall notify" in writing. The word is "shall", so this is a duty, not a courtesy. The notice goes on Form O-3 where the registration is of a geographical indication and on Form O-5 where it is of an authorised user. The Registrar's forms O-1 to O-5 sit in the Third Schedule to the Rules; you will find them listed in our article on the Second and Third Schedules.
The text of Form O-3 says the registration "will expire" on a stated date and "can be renewed for a further period of ten years" on receipt of an application in Form GI 4 with the prescribed fee on or before that date. Form O-5 says the same for an authorised user, referring to Form GI 3. The ten-year period matches section 18 of the Act, which we explain in our article on duration, renewal, removal and restoration.
If you manage renewals for a society, a geographical indication registration adviser can keep a dated calendar of these windows for each entry.
Who receives the notice, and where it is sent
Rule 61(1) is specific about the addressees:
- the registered proprietor, or the authorised user, as the case may be;
- in the case of an association of persons or producers registered as proprietors, each of them, or the person authorised to act on their behalf, if any.
The address is the principal place of business in India as entered in the register. Where the proprietor or authorised user has no principal place of business in India, the notice goes to the address for service in India entered in the register. The practical lesson for a producers' society is that the register address must be correct. Rule 69 deals with updating it; see our article on alteration of address in the register.
A drafting note on the forms
Rule 61(1) still says "Form GI-4 or Form GI-3". Since the Amendment Rules, 2020 (G.S.R. 528(E)), Form GI-3 has been replaced by Form GI 3A (application for registration of an authorised user) and Form GI 3B (renewal of an authorised user's registration). The rule text was not amended, so the old reference stays on the page. Read it, for an authorised user's renewal, as Form GI 3B. The printed text of Form O-5 also still refers to Form GI 3. We flag this slip and do not correct it silently.
The printed forms O-3 and O-5 also quote rupee amounts for renewal. Those figures are out of date. The fee that applies today is the one in the First Schedule as substituted in November 2025: entry 4A (renewal of a geographical indication, Form GI-4) is Rs. 500 and entry 3B (renewal of an authorised user, Form GI-3) is Rs. 10, as per the First Schedule as substituted in November 2025. Do not rely on the amount printed on the reminder.
Rule 61(2): registered within six months before renewal fell due
The second and third sub-rules deal with a timing problem. The ten-year period for renewal is counted "by reference to the date of application for registration". A registration can take a long time to issue, so the renewal date can arrive just before, or after, the certificate is granted.
Rule 61(2) covers the case where the geographical indication or authorised user "is registered at any time within six months before the date on which renewal is due". The registration "may be renewed by the payment of the renewal fee within six months after the actual date of registration". If the fee is not paid within that period, the Registrar "shall subject to rule 63" remove the indication or authorised user from the register.
Rule 61(3): registered after the renewal date
Rule 61(3) covers a registration granted after the date on which renewal fell due. The same relief applies: the registration may be renewed by paying the renewal fee within six months of the actual date of registration, failing which the Registrar shall, subject to rule 63, remove it.
| Situation | Period to pay the renewal fee | If not paid |
|---|---|---|
| Renewal not applied for; registration about to expire (rule 61(1)) | Registrar notifies 1 to 3 months before expiry on Form O-3 or O-5 | Removal under rule 62, subject to the six-month surcharge route and rule 63 |
| Registered within six months before renewal fell due (rule 61(2)) | Within six months after the actual date of registration | Registrar removes, subject to rule 63 |
| Registered after the renewal date (rule 61(3)) | Within six months of the actual date of registration | Registrar removes, subject to rule 63 |
The phrase "subject to rule 63" matters. Removal is not the end of the road: rule 63 allows an application for restoration and renewal in Form GI-4 after six months and within one year from expiry. Our article on rules 62 to 64 explains that path.
An example
Kanchan Bamboo Weavers Society holds a registered geographical indication that is due for renewal on 31 December. By 30 November it has sent no Form GI-4. Under rule 61(1) the Registrar should, at a date between one and three months before 31 December, write to each member registered as a proprietor, or to the person authorised to act for them, at the principal place of business shown in the register. If the society had moved offices and never updated the register, the notice would reach the old address, and the society could lose the registration through a letter it never saw.
Now take Himgiri Apple Growers, whose indication was registered on 1 October, three months before its renewal date of 31 December. Under rule 61(2) it may pay the renewal fee within six months after 1 October.
What the rule does not say
The rule does not say that a missed notice cancels the duty to renew. Nothing in the text of rule 61 makes the Registrar's notice a condition of removal; it is a duty on the Registrar and a warning to the holder. A holder should diarise the renewal date from the certificate itself, and not wait for a reminder.
Amendments made after November 2025 should be checked before acting.
Need help with GI renewals?
If you hold a geographical indication or an authorised user registration and are unsure when renewal falls due, our team can check the dates and prepare the filing. Talk to us through our geographical indication registration service.
Key takeaways
- The Registrar must notify in writing between one and three months before expiry if no renewal application with fee has been received.
- The notice is on Form O-3 (geographical indication) or Form O-5 (authorised user).
- Each member of an association registered as proprietor is to be notified, or the person authorised to act for them.
- Late-registered cases get six months from the actual date of registration to pay the renewal fee.
- Removal is subject to rule 63, which allows restoration within one year.
- The rule still says Form GI-3; read this as Form GI 3B after 2020.
Read next
- Rule 60: renewal of registration
- Rules 62 to 64: removal, restoration and renewal and advertisement
- Section 18 of the GI Act: duration, renewal, removal and restoration
- Ten-year term and renewal of a GI registration
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.