Rules 86 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.
Rules 86 to 88 give the Registrar practical powers to keep a proceeding moving. Rule 86 lets documents be amended and procedural irregularities corrected. Rule 87 lets the Registrar require an act, document or evidence that the Act and Rules do not otherwise provide for. Rule 88 says where hearings take place and who may decide after a transfer. A producer group served with a notice under rule 86(2) or rule 87 often seeks legal consultation to be sure what has to be produced and by when.
Documents about a geographical indication or authorised user may be amended, and a procedural irregularity may be corrected if it can be cured without harming anyone, on terms the Registrar directs. Where a step is needed that the Act and Rules do not provide for, the Registrar may require it by written notice. Hearings are held at the appropriate office where the application was made, or at a place within its jurisdiction, and a transferred officer may still pass an order on a matter he heard.
Rule 86(1): amendment and correction
"Any document, communication or other representation respecting a geographical indication or an authorised user may be amended and any irregularity in procedure which in the opinion of the Registrar, may be obviated without detriment to the interests of any person, may be corrected, if the Registrar thinks fit and proper on such terms as he may direct."
The rule has three limbs:
- What: any document, communication or representation about a geographical indication or an authorised user.
- Test for irregularity: in the Registrar's opinion it can be obviated "without detriment to the interests of any person".
- Terms: on such terms as he may direct.
The power is discretionary ("may", "if the Registrar thinks fit and proper"). A party cannot demand correction as of right. The power sits beside section 15 of the Act, which deals with correction and amendment of an application; see our article on section 15 of the GI Act. Rule 86 is wider in subject (any document or communication) and its limit is that no person's interests may suffer.
Rule 86(2): formal requirements
"The Registrar may require the amendment of any application or representation of a geographical indication or any other document or the addition of any matter thereto in order to bring it in accordance with the formal requirements of the Act."
Here the Registrar, not the party, starts the process. He may require amendment or addition so that a paper meets the formal requirements of the Act. The rule does not set a time within which the party must comply, and it does not say what follows if the party does not. The text is silent on both. Other rules supply their own periods where they apply, such as the thirty days to cure a deficient division request in rule 82(B)(4); see our article on rule 82.
Rule 87: directions not otherwise prescribed
"Where in the opinion of the Registrar, it is necessary for the proper prosecution or completion of any proceedings under the Act or rules for a person to perform an act, file a document or produce evidence, which is not provided for by the Act or the rules, the Registrar may by notice in writing require the person to perform the Act, file the document or produce the evidence, specified in the notice."
Points:
| Element | What the rule says |
|---|---|
| Trigger | The Registrar's opinion that the step is necessary for proper prosecution or completion of the proceeding |
| Gap filled | An act, document or evidence "not provided for by the Act or the rules" |
| Method | Notice in writing, specifying the act, document or evidence |
| Limit | Only what the notice specifies |
A drafting note: the rule says "perform the Act" where the meaning is "perform the act" in the lower-case sense; read it as the act specified in the notice. The rule has no stated period for compliance and no stated consequence for refusal.
The source of the Registrar's powers is section 60 and section 62 of the Act; see our article on sections 60 to 62 of the GI Act.
Rule 88(1): where hearings are held
"Subject to sub-rule (2) of rule 4 in relation to a geographical indication for which an application for registration is made on or after the notified date, the application as well as any proceeding under the Act and the rules shall, in the event of a hearing becoming necessary, be heard at the appropriate office of the Geographical Indications Registry at which such application was made under sub-section (4) of section 11, or at such place within the territorial jurisdiction of that office as the Registrar may deem proper."
In plain terms:
- The default is the appropriate office where the application was made under section 11(4).
- The Registrar may instead choose a place within the territorial jurisdiction of that office.
- The rule is subject to rule 4(2), under which applications, communications, documents and fees are sent or paid at or to the Head Office of the Registry notified by the Central Government initially, and later at the appropriate office as and when notified. Rule 4(1) fixes the appropriate office by the principal place of business in India of the applicant (or, for an association, of the applicant named first), or failing that the address for service in India.
The Registry's offices and the territorial limits are dealt with in the rules on the Registry (rules 3 to 9) and in our article on sections 5 and 6 of the GI Act. Rule 88 itself does not name any office.
Rule 88(2): the officer who is transferred
"Where an officer exercising the powers of the Registrar who has heard any matter under the Act or the Rules, has reserved orders therein, is transferred from one office of the Registry to another or reverts to another appointment before passing an order or rendering decision therein, he may, if the Registrar so directs, pass the order or render the decision as if he had continued to be the officer in the office of the Registry where the matter was heard."
This prevents a fresh hearing from being needed merely because an officer moved. Two conditions: orders must have been reserved, and the Registrar must direct the officer to proceed. The rule uses "may", and the power depends on the direction.
Who is affected
- Applicants and opponents in any proceeding, who may be asked to amend or add to a document or to produce something the Rules do not mention.
- Agents and attorneys, who must read the Registrar's notices carefully because the notice itself defines the duty.
- Parties in a long matter, for whom the transfer rule in rule 88(2) avoids repetition.
An example
Marayoor Jaggery Growers' Society has filed a statement of case with a minor formal defect: one page is missing the signature. The Registrar's office tells the Society to supply it under rule 86(2). The Society files an amended page, and the Registrar accepts it, as the correction harms nobody. Later, in an opposition, the Registrar sends a written notice under rule 87 requiring the Society to produce the minutes of a general body meeting that no rule requires to be filed. The matter is heard at the Registry office where the application was made. The officer reserves his order and is then transferred; on the Registrar's direction he passes the order.
What the rules do not say
- None of the three rules sets a time limit.
- Rule 86 does not say how an affected person is notified of a correction.
- Rule 87 is silent on the consequence of not complying with the notice.
Amendments made after November 2025 should be checked before acting.
Need help with a Registrar's notice?
When the Registry asks for an amendment, a document or evidence, the notice defines what you must do. Our legal consultation team can read the notice, advise on what is required and help prepare the response.
Key takeaways
- Rule 86(1): documents may be amended and procedural irregularities corrected if no one is harmed, on the Registrar's terms.
- Rule 86(2): the Registrar can require amendment to meet the formal requirements of the Act.
- Rule 87: the Registrar can require, by written notice, an act, document or evidence not otherwise provided for.
- Rule 88(1): hearings are at the appropriate office where the application was made, or a place within its jurisdiction.
- Rule 88(2): a transferred officer may pass an order on a matter he heard, if the Registrar so directs.
- None of these rules sets a time limit; the notice or the related rule does.
Read next
- Rules 83 to 85: extension of time, discretionary power and notification
- Rules 89 to 91: costs in uncontested cases and scale of costs
- Sections 3 and 4 of the GI Act: Registrar and power to transfer cases
- Section 15 of the GI Act: correction and amendment of application
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.