Convention Country 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.
A breeder who first applies for plant breeder's rights in a convention country has twelve months to apply in India and still be treated as if the Indian application had been made on the earlier date. The Act ties this to reciprocity: a country that does not treat Indian citizens equally is shut out.
Provisions as amended up to the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021 (in force 4 April 2021); no later amendment as of 3 October 2026. Later notifications should be checked on plantauthority.gov.in.
The Central Government declares by notification which countries are convention countries, where the country gives Indian citizens similar privileges (s.31(1)). A person who applied for a breeder's right or official register entry in a convention country and applies in India within twelve months gets the earlier date, deemed to be the date of registration (s.31(2)). Where there are several foreign applications, the twelve months run from the earliest (s.31(3)). A country that denies Indian citizens the same rights loses the privilege (s.32).
Section 31(1): declaring a convention country
"With a view to the fulfilment of a treaty, convention or arrangement with any country outside India which affords to citizens of India similar privileges as granted to its own citizens, the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare such country to be a convention country for the purposes of this Act."
Two ideas run together. The country must have a treaty, convention or arrangement with India, and it must afford Indian citizens similar privileges to its own. The definition in section 2(f) describes convention countries; section 31(1) is the power to declare one. The countries declared are published by notification; they are not listed in the Act or in this article, so check plantauthority.gov.in for the current position. If you are unsure whether the country of your first filing qualifies, a legal consultation can help you check.
Section 31(2): the twelve-month priority
| Element | Provision |
|---|---|
| Earlier application | A person has applied for the granting of a breeder's right to a variety, or for entering it in the official register of varieties, in a convention country |
| Who applies in India | That person, or any person entitled to make an application on his behalf under section 14 or section 23 |
| Time limit | Within twelve months after the date on which the application was made in the convention country |
| Effect | If registered under this Act, the variety "shall be registered as of the date on which the application was made in the convention country and that date shall be deemed for the purposes of this Act to be the date of registration" |
The effect is a priority benefit. The foreign filing date, not the Indian filing date, is treated as the date of registration. Read it together with the Explanation to section 15(3)(b) in section 15, under which a convention-country application that leads to a grant or register entry makes the variety a matter of common knowledge from the date of that application.
Section 31(2) refers to applications under section 14 or 23. It applies to ordinary varieties and to essentially derived varieties.
An invented example: a breeder in a convention country files for protection of a maize variety in that country on one date and then, ten months later, has an agent in India file under section 14. Because the Indian filing is within twelve months, the variety, if registered in India, is registered as of the foreign date. The same filing made fourteen months later would not receive that benefit.
Section 31(3): several foreign applications
"Where applications have been made for granting of a breeder's right to a variety, or for entering such variety in the official register of varieties in two or more convention countries, the period of twelve months referred to in sub-section (2) shall be reckoned from the date on which the earlier or earliest of those applications were made." The clock starts with the first filing, not the last. A breeder who files in three convention countries should count from the first of them.
Section 31(4): no back-dated infringement claims
"Nothing in this Act shall entitle the breeder of a registered variety to infringement of rights other than protected under this Act which took place prior to the date of application of registration under this Act." The wording is compressed; it appears to mean that the Act gives no claim for infringement of rights that took place before the date of the application for registration, and rights not protected under this Act are not covered. The text is as printed; read it with the infringement provisions in sections 64 to 67. If your question is about a use that began before your Indian filing, take advice before assuming a claim is available; a legal consultation can help.
Section 32: reciprocity
"Where any country declared by the Central Government in this behalf by notification in the Official Gazette under sub-section (1) of section 31 does not accord to citizens of India the same rights in respect of the registration and protection of a variety, as it accords to its own nationals, no nationals of such country shall be entitled, either solely or jointly with any other person, to apply for the registration of a variety or be entitled to get a variety registered under this Act."
| Test | Result |
|---|---|
| Declared country gives Indian citizens the same rights as its own nationals | Its nationals can apply and register as provided |
| Declared country does not | Its nationals cannot apply, alone or jointly with another person, nor get a variety registered |
The bar covers joint applications, so a foreign national cannot get round it by filing with an Indian co-applicant. The Act does not say who determines that a country fails the test or how; it is in the notification under section 31(1) and the Central Government's powers.
Need help with a foreign priority claim?
Priority dates are unforgiving, and the application must also meet the content rules in section 18. If you are a foreign breeder or an Indian licensee planning an Indian filing, speak to us through a legal consultation before the twelve months run.
Key takeaways
- Convention countries are declared by Gazette notification; the Act gives no list.
- A filing in India within twelve months of the foreign filing takes the foreign date as the date of registration.
- With several foreign filings, the twelve months run from the earliest.
- Reciprocity is a condition: a declared country that does not give Indian citizens the same rights loses access.
- Section 31(4) is compressed; read it with the infringement provisions.
Read next
- Sections 14-15: registrable varieties
- Section 18: application contents
- Section 24: certificate and term
Disclaimer: Based on the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Act, 2001 as amended up to the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021, the PPV&FR Rules, 2003 as amended up to G.S.R. 803(E) of 16 November 2021, and the regulations, rules and scheme named in the article, as published by the PPV&FR Authority and consulted on 3 October 2026. Later notifications should be checked on plantauthority.gov.in. This article is general information, not legal advice; check the official text before acting.