Rules 75 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 75 to 80 are the general procedure rules in Chapter VIII. They prescribe Form LD-23 for extending time, give a person one month to ask to be heard before the Registrar acts adversely under a discretionary power, require decisions to be notified, let the Registrar allow amendments and cure irregularities, let the Registrar or Board require acts not otherwise provided for, and say where hearings take place. They carry out sections 72, 73 and 76 of the Act.
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 deadline is close, a legal consultation can help decide whether an extension is available.
An extension under section 76 is applied for on Form LD-23 (entry 21: Rs 1000 for a month or part thereof) unless the time is expressly provided in the Act or the Rules already allow an extension. A person entitled to be heard before an adverse discretionary decision has one month from the Registrar's notice to ask, and then gets ten days' notice of the date. Decisions are notified to the person affected. Documents may be amended and procedural irregularities corrected. Hearings are at the office where the application was made.
Rule 75: extension of time
75(1): Form LD-23
"An application for extension of time under section 76 not being a time expressly provided in the Act or a time for extension of which provision is made in these rules shall be made on Form LD-23 accompanied by prescribed fee." Schedule I, entry 21: on application for extension of time for a month or part thereof under section 76 (not being a time expressly provided in the Act), Rs 1000, Form LD-23. The words "for a month or part thereof" show that the fee is by month or part of a month. The Act's section 76 is explained in sections 72 to 77.
75(2): how the Registrar decides
"Upon an application made under sub-rule (1) the Registrar, if satisfied that the circumstances are as to justify the extension of the time applied for, may, subject to the provisions of these rules where a maximum time limit is prescribed and subject to such conditions as he may think fit to impose, extend the time and notify the parties accordingly and the extension may be granted though the time for doing the act or taking the proceeding for which it is applied for has already expired or not."
| Point | Rule 75 |
|---|---|
| Form | LD-23 |
| Applies to | Times not expressly provided in the Act, and not times for which the Rules already provide an extension |
| Test | The Registrar is satisfied the circumstances justify the extension |
| Limits | Maximum time limits in the Rules continue to apply |
| Timing | The extension may be granted although the time has already expired |
Examples of separate extension routes: Form LD-30 for opposition (not more than one month in the aggregate), Form LD-9 for assignment directions. Those are not Form LD-23 cases. See Rules 33 to 38 and Rules 47 to 54.
Rule 76: the option to be heard
"The time within which a person entitled under section 72 to an opportunity of being heard shall exercise his option of requiring to be heard shall, save as otherwise expressly provided in the Act or these rules, be one month from the date of a notice which the Registrar shall give to such person before determining the matter with reference to which such person is entitled to be heard. If within that month such person is required to be heard, the Registrar shall appoint a date for the hearing and shall give ten days' notice thereof."
The rule refers to section 72, which in the printed Act is the Registrar's powers section; the hearing right sits in section 73. Read the reference as the hearing right before an adverse exercise of discretion. The steps are: a Registrar's notice before deciding; one month to ask for a hearing; and, if asked, ten days' notice of the date.
Rule 77: notification of decisions
"The decision of the Registrar in the exercise of any discretionary power given to him by the Act or these rules shall be notified to the person affected." The date of notification matters because later periods, such as the one month to ask for the Registrar's grounds under rule 27, run from communication.
Rule 78: amendments and irregularities
- 78(1). "Any document or drawing or other representation of a layout-design 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, might be corrected, if the Registrar thinks fit on such terms as he may direct."
- 78(2). The Registrar "may require the amendment of any application or representation of a layout-design 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."
The first limb is discretionary ("if the Registrar thinks fit") and conditioned on no detriment to any person. The second is a power to require formal fixes. Compare the application-specific correction route on Form LD-6 in Rules 24 to 29.
Rule 79: directions not otherwise prescribed
"Where in the opinion of the Appellate Board or the Registrar, it is necessary for the proper prosecution or completion of any proceedings under the Act or these 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 Appellate Board or 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." This is a gap-filler. The Board reference carries the commencement line: no notification bringing sections 32 to 53 (and 55) into force was found in the India Code record or on the Registry's notifications page (checked 3 October 2026); check the current position before relying on it. For the Registrar the power is in force.
Rule 80: hearings
- 80(1). For a layout-design for which an application is made, "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 office of the Registry at which such application was made under sub-section (2) of section 8 or at such place within the territorial jurisdiction of that office as the Registrar may deem proper."
- 80(2). If an officer who heard a matter and reserved the order is transferred to another office or reverts to another appointment before passing the order, "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."
The hearing office follows the filing office under section 8(2); see Rules 4 to 9.
A worked example
A start-up misses a Registrar-set date to file a requested document and applies on Form LD-23 with the Rs 1000 fee for an extension of one month; the time had already expired, which rule 75(2) allows. Elsewhere, the Registrar sends a notice that he proposes to refuse a discretionary request; the start-up has one month to ask to be heard and gets ten days' notice of the hearing date, which is held at the office where it filed. After the decision is notified to it, the start-up notes the date of notification for the periods that follow.
Need help with a missed or looming date?
If a period is about to run out or has run, the route depends on whether the time is in the Act or the Rules. Our legal consultation team can look at your file and the options.
Key takeaways
- Extension of time under section 76 is on Form LD-23 (entry 21: Rs 1000 for a month or part thereof).
- It does not cover times expressly provided in the Act or times for which the Rules provide their own extension.
- A person entitled to be heard has one month from the Registrar's notice to ask; the hearing date comes with ten days' notice.
- Decisions on discretionary powers are notified to the person affected.
- The Registrar may allow amendments and correct irregularities that cause no detriment.
- Hearings are at the office where the application was made.
Read next
- Sections 72 to 77: the Registrar's powers
- Rules 81 to 85: costs, review and affidavits
- Rules 24 to 29: objections and correction
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.