Sections 30 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.
Chapter VII has two sections that keep the register accurate. Section 30 lets a person aggrieved by an entry, or the absence of one, ask the Registrar (or the Appellate Board) to make, expunge or vary an entry. Section 31 lets the Registrar correct errors and record changes in names and addresses on the application of the registered proprietor or a registered user, and cancel an entry of a layout-design on the proprietor's application.
This article reflects the Act as amended up to 3 October 2026 (the Act has not been amended since it was enacted in 2000). Check sicldr.gov.in for later notifications. Sections 30 and 31 have been in force since 1 May 2011. If the entry in question affects a dispute, a legal dispute resolution review is the sensible first step.
Any person aggrieved by a missing entry, an entry made without sufficient cause, an entry wrongly remaining, or an error or defect in an entry may apply in the prescribed manner to the Appellate Board or to the Registrar. The Registrar route is in force; for the Board route, no commencement notification was found. The registered proprietor may apply under section 31 to correct errors, record changes of name or address, or cancel the entry of a layout-design. A registered user may apply to correct his own name, address or description after notice to the proprietor.
Section 30(1): who may apply and for what
"Any person aggrieved" by any of four situations "may apply in the prescribed manner to the Appellate Board or to the Registrar, and the Appellate Board or the Registrar, as the case may be, may make such order for making, expunging or varying the entry as it may think fit."
| Situation | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Absence or omission of an entry | Something that should be on the register is not |
| Entry made without sufficient cause | An entry was made but should not have been |
| Entry wrongly remaining | An entry that was right once but should now come off |
| Error or defect in an entry | The entry is there but is wrong or incomplete |
The orders available are three: making, expunging or varying the entry.
The two forums and the Board line
The section names two forums in the alternative, the Appellate Board and the Registrar. The Registrar route is in force, because section 30 has been in force since 1 May 2011 and the Registrar is the officer appointed under section 3. For the Board, 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 them. This article therefore explains the Registrar route as the one the Act makes available, and it does not say that the Board sits.
Section 30(2) to (4): breadth, own motion and effect
- 30(2). In any proceedings under the section, the Board or the Registrar "may decide any question that may be necessary or expedient to decide in connection with the rectification of the register". This wide power lets the forum decide incidental questions, for example on ownership, if needed to settle the entry.
- 30(3). The Board or the Registrar may act "of its own motion", after giving notice in the prescribed manner to the parties concerned and an opportunity of being heard.
- 30(4). Any order of the Board rectifying the register must direct that notice be served on the Registrar in the prescribed manner, and the Registrar then rectifies the register accordingly. This sub-section concerns Board orders only.
The Rules for rectification are in Rules 63 to 68, including Form LD-12 for the application. Section 19(1) also refers to applications under section 30: registration and later assignments are prima facie evidence of validity in "legal proceedings relating to a layout-design registered under this Act (including application under section 30)". See sections 19 to 21.
Section 31: correction of the register
Proprietor's applications (31(1))
The Registrar "may, on application made in the prescribed manner by the registered proprietor":
- (a) correct any error in the name, address or description of the registered proprietor, or any other entry relating to the layout-design;
- (b) enter any change in the name, address or description of the person registered as proprietor; or
- (c) cancel the entry of a layout-design on the register.
He may also "make any consequential amendment or alteration in the certificate of registration" and may require the certificate to be produced to him for the purpose.
Clause (c) is the proprietor's way of surrendering a registration. The Act does not say what happens to rights or registered users on cancellation of the entry, and it does not set a fee in the section. The Rules and Schedule I carry the form and fee details.
Registered user's applications (31(2))
On application in the prescribed manner by a registered user, and "after notice to the registered proprietor", the Registrar may correct any error, or enter any change, in the name, address or description of the registered user. So a registered user's change of address needs notice to the proprietor.
| Section | Applicant | What the Registrar may do |
|---|---|---|
| 30(1) | Any person aggrieved | Make, expunge or vary an entry |
| 30(3) | Own motion of the forum | Same, after notice and hearing |
| 31(1) | Registered proprietor | Correct errors, enter changes in name, address or description, cancel the layout-design's entry; consequential changes to the certificate |
| 31(2) | Registered user | Correct or change the user's own name, address or description, after notice to the proprietor |
Rectification versus clerical correction
Section 13(4) lets the Registrar amend the register or a certificate to correct a clerical error or an obvious mistake, without an application. Section 31 is on application. Section 30 is for a person aggrieved and can change the substance of an entry. Choosing the route matters: a mistaken spelling in the proprietor's name is a section 31 matter, while a dispute over whether a registered user should be on the register is closer to section 30 or section 26.
A worked example
A fabless start-up changes its registered office after a move. It applies under section 31(1)(b) to enter the new address. A competitor, believing the start-up's registration should never have been made because the layout was not original, applies under section 30(1) as a person aggrieved by an entry "made without sufficient cause", asking the Registrar to expunge it. The Registrar can decide the questions necessary to settle that application and, if satisfied, order the entry expunged.
Need help with an entry on the register?
Whether you need to correct your own entry or to challenge another party's, our legal dispute resolution team can prepare the application and track the notices.
Key takeaways
- Section 30 lets a person aggrieved apply to the Board or the Registrar to make, expunge or vary an entry.
- The Registrar route is in force; no commencement notification was found for the Board route.
- The forum may decide any question necessary in connection with rectification, and may act on its own motion after notice and hearing.
- Section 31 lets the proprietor correct entries, enter changes and cancel the layout-design's entry.
- A registered user may correct his own entry after notice to the proprietor.
Read next
- Sections 26 to 29: registered users
- Rules 63 to 68: rectification and correction
- Sections 32 to 39: the Appellate Board
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.