Sections 5 and 6 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 5 sets up the Geographical Indications Registry, the office where applications are filed and decided. Section 6 creates the Register of Geographical Indications, the official record of every registered geographical indication and authorised user. If you are preparing a geographical indication registration, these two sections tell you which office handles your file and what the record of your success will look like.
A Geographical Indications Registry is established, with a head office at a place the Central Government specifies by notification and branch offices it may establish. The Central Government may define the territorial limits of each office. The Registry has a seal. The Register is kept at the head office, may be kept on computer or in electronic form, records proprietors and authorised users, accepts no notice of any trust, and is under the Registrar's control, subject to the Central Government.
Section 5: the Registry
Sub-section (1): the Registry exists
"For the purpose of this Act, there shall be established a Registry which shall be known as the Geographical Indications Registry."
Sub-section (2): head office and branch offices
"The head office of the Geographical Indications Registry shall be at such place as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify, and for the purpose of facilitating the registrations of geographical indications, there may be established at such places as the Central Government may think fit branch offices of the Geographical Indications Registry."
The Act does not name a city. The place of the head office is fixed by Gazette notification. Branch offices are optional ("there may be established") and their purpose is "facilitating the registrations". The source text does not list any office address, so none is given here.
Sub-section (3): territorial limits
"The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, define the territorial limits within which an office of the Geographical Indications Registry may exercise its functions."
This matters because section 11(4) requires an application to be filed in the office within whose territorial limits the relevant territory, region or locality lies. The limits come from the notification under section 5(3). Check the current notification before filing.
Sub-section (4): the seal
"There shall be a seal of the Geographical Indications Registry."
The seal is used on certificates. Section 16(2) requires the registration certificate to be sealed with it, and section 23(1) treats a certificate that is a copy of the entry under the seal of the Registry as prima facie evidence of validity.
Section 6: the Register
Sub-section (1): what is recorded and where
"A record called the Register of geographical indications shall be kept at the head office of the Geographical Indications Registry, wherein shall be entered all registered geographical indications with the names, addresses and descriptions of the proprietors, the names, addresses and descriptions of authorised users and such other matters relating to registered geographical indications as may be prescribed and such registers may be maintained wholly or partly on computer."
| What is entered | Source |
|---|---|
| Every registered geographical indication | Section 6(1) |
| Names, addresses and descriptions of the proprietors | Section 6(1) |
| Names, addresses and descriptions of authorised users | Section 6(1) |
| Other matters "as may be prescribed" | Section 6(1), by the rules |
The Register is divided into two Parts under section 7: Part A for the indications and Part B for authorised users. That is covered in the next article, Part A and Part B of the Register.
Sub-sections (2) and (3): electronic records
Under sub-section (2), "it shall be lawful for the Registrar to keep the records wholly or partly in computer floppies or diskettes or in any other electronic form, subject to such safeguards as may be prescribed". Sub-section (3) then says that where the register is kept in that way, "any reference in this Act to any entry in the register shall be construed as the reference to the entry as maintained on computer floppies or diskettes or in any other electronic form, as the case may be".
The reference to floppies and diskettes dates the drafting, but the words "any other electronic form" keep the provision wide. The safeguards are left to the rules, which are not part of the text consulted.
Sub-section (4): no notice of trust
"No notice of any trust, express or implied or constructive, shall be entered in the register and no such notice shall be receivable by the Registrar."
The Register shows who the proprietor is. It does not record trusts behind the name. If a producers' society holds the registration for the benefit of members under some arrangement, the Register will not carry that arrangement and the Registrar cannot receive notice of it.
Sub-section (5): control and management
"Subject to the superintendence and direction of the Central Government, the register shall be kept under the control and management of the Registrar."
Sub-section (6): copies at branch offices
"There shall be kept at each branch office of the Geographical Indications Registry a copy of the register and such other documents mentioned in section 78 as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, direct."
So a branch office holds a copy of the register, plus whichever section 78 documents the Central Government directs by notification. Section 78 (public inspection) is covered separately in this series.
Drafting points
- Section 6 opens with "(1)" unprinted: the first paragraph carries no sub-section number in the printed text, and sub-section (2) follows. We have treated the first paragraph as sub-section (1), which is how sub-section (2) itself refers to it.
- The first paragraph's wording ("the names , addresses") has a stray space in the printed text; this has no effect on meaning.
How the pieces fit
| Question | Answer in the Act |
|---|---|
| Where is the Registry's head office? | Where the Central Government specifies by notification (s.5(2)) |
| Are there other offices? | Branch offices may be established (s.5(2)) |
| Which office handles my application? | The one whose territorial limits cover the area (s.5(3) with s.11(4)) |
| Where is the Register kept? | At the head office (s.6(1)), with a copy at each branch office (s.6(6)) |
| Can it be electronic? | Yes (s.6(1) to (3)) |
| Are trusts recorded? | No (s.6(4)) |
Example. A Hilltop weavers' cooperative is entered as proprietor of an indication, with twelve weavers as authorised users. The Register will show the cooperative's name, address and description, and the names, addresses and descriptions of the twelve users. It will not show any internal trust deed among the weavers.
Need help with an application or a register entry?
Correct names and descriptions on the Register save trouble later, because section 6 records exactly what you put in. Our team can prepare and file a geographical indication registration and check the entries once made.
Key takeaways
- The Geographical Indications Registry is established by section 5(1); its head office place is notified, and branch offices may be established.
- Territorial limits of each office come from Gazette notification (section 5(3)); the Registry has a seal.
- The Register is kept at the head office, may be electronic, and a copy is kept at each branch office.
- It records proprietors and authorised users with names, addresses and descriptions.
- No notice of any trust is entered or received.
Read next
- Section 7: Part A and Part B of the Register
- Sections 3 and 4: Registrar of Geographical Indications
- GI registration process: application to certificate
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.