Rules 100 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.
Once a layout-design agent is registered, the Rules keep the register current. An agent pays an annual fee to continue (rule 100). The Registrar removes names on request, for non-payment, for disabilities, for misconduct or error, and on death (rule 101). He may refuse to recognise certain persons (rule 102). A name removed for non-payment can be restored on Form LDA-2 within six months (rule 103). Entries are altered on Form LDA-3 (rule 104), and the register is published (rule 105).
This article reflects the Rules as amended up to G.S.R. 689(E) dated 14 September 2012 (the only amendment). Check sicldr.gov.in for later notifications. Fees are those in Schedule I as notified in 2001; the Registry's forms page lists the same amounts (checked 3 October 2026). If a name has been or may be removed, a legal consultation can check the grounds and the six-month restoration window.
Continuance on the register is subject to the prescribed fees (rule 100; Schedule I, entry 31). The Registrar removes a name on request, if the annual fee is unpaid three months after it falls due, on a rule 95 disability, a declaration of unfitness after a show-cause step, an error or misrepresentation, or death; removal is notified in the Gazette and the journal. A name removed for non-payment can be restored on Form LDA-2 within six months (entry 32: Rs 1000). Alterations are on Form LDA-3 (entry 33: Rs 500).
Rule 100: continuance
"The continuance of a person's name in the register of layout-design agents shall be subject to his payment of the fees prescribed in that behalf." Schedule I, entry 31, prescribes the fee for continuance of the name in the register of agents under rule 100: Rs 1500 for the first year, to be paid along with the fee for registration, and Rs 500 for every year after the first, to be paid on 1 April in each year. A year commences on 1 April and ends on 31 March. The first article on agents is Rules 93 to 99.
Rule 101: removal
101(1): on request or for non-payment
The Registrar "shall remove" the name of a registered agent (a) from whom a request has been received to that effect; or (b) from whom the annual fee has not been received on the expiry of three months from the date on which it became due.
101(2): disabilities, unfitness and error
The Registrar "shall remove" the name of any agent:
| Clause | Ground |
|---|---|
| (a) | Found to have been, at the time of registration or since, subject to any of the disabilities in clauses (i) to (vi) of rule 95 |
| (b) | Whom the Registrar has declared not to be a fit and proper person to remain on the register by reason of any act of negligence, misconduct or dishonesty committed in his professional capacity |
| (c) | Whose name was entered by error or on account of misrepresentation or suppression of material fact |
A proviso applies to clause (b): before making the declaration, the Registrar "shall call upon the person concerned to show cause why his registration should not be cancelled and shall make such further enquiry, if any, as he may consider necessary." So the show-cause step applies to the unfitness ground, and the text does not state it for clauses (a) and (c).
101(3) and (4)
The Registrar removes the name of any registered agent who is dead. Removal "shall be notified in the Official Gazette and in the journal and shall, wherever possible be communicated to the person concerned."
Rule 102: refusal to recognise
102(1): the Registrar may refuse to recognise
- (a) any individual whose name has been removed from, and not restored to, the register of agents;
- (b) any person, not registered as an agent, who in the Registrar's opinion is engaged wholly or mainly in acting as agent in applying for layout-designs in India or elsewhere in the name or for the benefit of the person by whom he is employed; and
- (c) any company or firm, if any person whom the Registrar could refuse to recognise is acting as a director or manager of the company or is a partner in the firm.
102(2): the Registrar shall refuse
"The Registrar shall also refuse to recognise as layout-design agent in respect of any business under this rule any person who neither resides nor has a place of business in India."
| Rule | Power | Who |
|---|---|---|
| 102(1)(a) | May refuse | Removed and not restored |
| 102(1)(b) | May refuse | Unregistered person acting wholly or mainly as agent for his employer's applications |
| 102(1)(c) | May refuse | Company or firm with such a person as director, manager or partner |
| 102(2) | Shall refuse | A person neither resident nor with a place of business in India |
Clause (c) matters for a firm. A firm with a removed agent as a partner can itself be refused recognition. Section 84(c) of the Act separately allows a person in the sole and regular employment of the principal to act; rule 102(1)(b) addresses someone acting wholly or mainly as agent for an employer's applications without registration, so an in-house employee's role should be checked against it; see sections 83 to 88.
Rule 103: restoration
- 103(1). The Registrar "may on an application made on Form LDA-2 accompanied by prescribed fee within six months from the date of removal of his name from the register" from a person whose name was removed under rule 101(1)(b) (non-payment), "restore his name to the register of layout-design agents and continue his name therein." Schedule I, entry 32: Rs 1000, Form LDA-2.
- 103(2). The restoration "shall be notified in the Official Gazette and in the journal and shall be communicated to the person concerned."
Restoration is open only for removal under clause (b) of rule 101(1), the non-payment ground. It is discretionary ("may"), and the window is six months from removal. Removal on request, disability, unfitness, error or death is not within it.
Rule 104: alteration of entries
104(1). A registered agent "may apply on Form LDA-3 accompanied by prescribed fee for alteration of his name, address of the place of residence, address of the principal place of business or qualifications entered in the register." The Registrar then makes the alteration. Schedule I, entry 33: Rs 500, Form LDA-3. 104(2). Every alteration "shall be notified in the Official Gazette and in the journal."
A drafting point on Form LDA-3: its title in the Schedule II list of forms speaks of the "register of trade marks agents", not of layout-design agents, although the form itself is headed with the register of layout design agents. The form is the one the rule prescribes; see Schedule II part 2.
Rule 105: publication
"The register of layout-design agents shall be published from time to time, as the Registrar may deem fit, the entries being arranged in the alphabetical order of the surnames of the registered layout-designs agents and, copies thereof shall be placed on sale." The publication is at the Registrar's discretion as to timing, and the order is by surname.
A worked example
A layout-design agent in Hyderabad forgets the annual fee due on 1 April. Three months after the due date passes, the Registrar removes the name under rule 101(1)(b) and notifies the removal in the Gazette and the journal. Within six months of removal the agent applies on Form LDA-2 with the Rs 1000 fee, and the Registrar may restore the name. Meanwhile, a firm that listed the removed agent as a partner finds that under rule 102(1)(c) the Registrar may refuse to recognise the firm until the position is cured. After restoration, the agent changes office address and applies on Form LDA-3 with the Rs 500 fee.
Need help with an agent's status?
If an agent's name has been removed, or a firm's recognition is at risk, the six-month restoration window is short. Our legal consultation team can review the facts and the forms.
Key takeaways
- Continuance on the register depends on the prescribed fees (entry 31: Rs 1500 first year, Rs 500 each later year).
- The Registrar shall remove names on request, three months after unpaid annual fees, on rule 95 disabilities, unfitness (after show cause), error or misrepresentation, or death.
- Removals and restorations are notified in the Gazette and the journal.
- The Registrar may refuse to recognise removed agents, certain unregistered agents and tainted firms; he shall refuse persons with no residence or place of business in India.
- Restoration after non-payment removal is on Form LDA-2 within six months (entry 32: Rs 1000); alteration on Form LDA-3 (entry 33: Rs 500).
Read next
- Rules 93 to 99: registering as an agent
- Sections 83 to 88: agents in the Act
- Schedule II part 2: Forms LDA-1 to LDA-3
Disclaimer: Based on the Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout-Design Act, 2000 (never amended; commencement as notified in 2004, 2011 and 2014) and the Semiconductor Integrated Circuits Layout-Design Rules, 2001 as amended by G.S.R. 689(E) of 14 September 2012, as consulted on 3 October 2026. Check sicldr.gov.in for later notifications and current forms and fees. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.