Section 1 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.
Section 1 does three small but necessary jobs: it gives the Act its name, says where it applies, and leaves the date of coming into force to the Central Government. The footnote to the printed text records that the notified date was 15 September 2003. If your producer group is planning a geographical indication registration, this is the section that tells you the law applies across the whole country.
The Act may be called the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999. It extends to the whole of India. It comes into force on such date as the Central Government appoints by notification in the Official Gazette, and different dates may be appointed for different provisions. The source text's footnote gives 15 September 2003 (notification S.O. 1051(E)).
Where the Act sits
The Act is Act No. 48 of 1999, dated 30 December 1999. Its long title says it is "an Act to provide for the registration and better protection of geographical indications relating to goods". The enacting formula places it in the Fiftieth Year of the Republic of India. Section 1 is the first section of Chapter I, headed "Preliminary".
For the wider picture of what the Act does, see the overview in Introduction to the Geographical Indications Act 1999.
Sub-section (1): the short title
"This Act may be called the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999."
That is the full text. In practice people say "the GI Act". Notice what the title tells you: it is about goods, not services, and it provides for both registration and protection. Registration is the route into the register kept under the Act; protection is the set of remedies that follow. Both ideas run through the rest of the Act.
Sub-section (2): extent
"It extends to the whole of India."
There is no carve-out for any State or class of person in the text of this sub-section. A producers' association in any part of India may therefore use the Act. Section 11(4), read with section 5, deals separately with which office of the Registry receives an application; that is a question of where to file, not of whether the Act applies.
The Act also deals with goods whose territory, region or locality is not situated in India. The proviso to section 11(4) provides for the office where such an application is filed, and section 84 deals with convention countries. Section 1(2) does not restrict those provisions; they are explained in their own articles in this series.
Sub-section (3): commencement by notification
"It shall come into force on such date as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint; and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Act, and any reference in any such provision to the commencement of this Act shall be construed as a reference to the coming into force of that provision."
There are three separate ideas packed into this sentence.
- The date is not fixed in the Act. Parliament left it to the Central Government to choose.
- The choice is made by notification in the Official Gazette. Without that notification the Act would not have started.
- Provisions may start on different dates. Wherever another section speaks of "the commencement of this Act", that phrase means the date that particular provision came into force.
The third idea matters in practice. Section 26(1)(a), for example, protects certain trade marks whose rights were acquired through good-faith use "before the commencement of this Act". Because of section 1(3), that phrase is read as the coming into force of the provision in question.
The date in the footnote
The printed text carries a footnote to the words "such date": "15th September, 2003, vide notification No. S.O. 1051(E), dated 15th September, 2003, see Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, sec. 3(ii)." So the source text itself records that the Act was brought into force on 15 September 2003 by that notification. The text we consulted does not say whether any provision was brought in on a different date, and we have not added anything beyond the footnote.
The section at a glance
| Sub-section | What it says | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| (1) | Short title: Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 | Fixes the name used in notices, applications and pleadings |
| (2) | Extends to the whole of India | One law across the country |
| (3) first limb | Comes into force on a date the Central Government appoints by notification | The Act depends on a Gazette notification |
| (3) second limb | Different dates may be appointed for different provisions | Not every section need start together |
| (3) third limb | "Commencement of this Act" means the coming into force of that provision | Matters for time-based protections such as section 26 |
Two later amending Acts
The principal text above is the Act as enacted. Two later Acts changed parts of it, and this series applies both:
- The Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021 abolished the Appellate Board's role under the GI Act, substituting the "High Court" and "Registrar or the High Court, as the case may be" in the sections it lists, and omitting sections 32, 33 and 36.
- The Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023 inserted sections 37A and 37B, substituted section 42(2), and omitted sections 43 and 44.
Neither of these changes section 1. The text of the amending Acts that we read does not give their commencement dates in the passages concerned, so none is stated here. Where this series says "as amended", it means by those two Acts.
A practical example
Suppose Riverbend Tea Growers' Society files its first application and a competitor argues that the Act "did not exist" when its labels were first printed. Section 1 is the starting point for answering that: the Act applies to the whole of India, and its commencement is tied to the Gazette notification. For time-sensitive questions, such as whether a trade mark was in use "before the commencement of this Act", the relevant provision and its notified date should be checked, as section 1(3) allows different dates for different provisions.
Need help with a geographical indication application?
Understanding that the Act applies across India is the easy part; preparing the statement of how your product's quality is tied to its place is where most groups need support. Our team can guide a producers' body through a geographical indication registration from first assessment to application.
Key takeaways
- The Act's name is the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 (Act No. 48 of 1999).
- Section 1(2): it extends to the whole of India.
- Section 1(3): it starts on a date the Central Government appoints by Gazette notification, and different provisions may start on different dates.
- The source text's footnote records 15 September 2003, notification S.O. 1051(E).
- "Commencement of this Act" in any provision means that provision's own coming into force.
Read next
- Section 2: definitions of geographical indication, goods, indication and producer
- Sections 3 and 4: Registrar of Geographical Indications
- Introduction to Geographical Indications Act 1999
- What is a geographical indication: definition and examples
Disclaimer: Based on the Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 read with the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021 and the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023, as consulted on 1 October 2026. Forms, fees and procedure are set by the rules made under the Act. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.