Sections 95 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.
The Act leaves a great deal of detail to subordinate law. Section 95 lets the Authority make regulations, with the previous approval of the Central Government. Section 96 lets the Central Government make rules, and lists sixty-eight heads on which it may do so. Section 97 requires every rule, regulation and scheme to be laid before Parliament for thirty days.
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.
Regulations are made by the Authority with the Central Government's previous approval, by notification in the Official Gazette, and must be "consistent with this Act and the rules" (s.95). Rules are made by the Central Government by notification in the Official Gazette (s.96). Every rule, regulation and scheme is laid before each House of Parliament for a total of thirty days, and Parliament may modify it or annul it without disturbing what was done earlier (s.97). The Act, the Rules, the Regulations and the schemes must be read together.
Section 95: regulations by the Authority
Section 95(1): "The Authority may, with the previous approval of the Central Government, by notification in the Official Gazette, make regulations consistent with this Act and the rules made thereunder to carry out the provisions of this Act."
Three conditions sit in that sentence. The maker is the Authority, not the Government. The Government's approval has to come first ("previous approval"). And the regulations have to be consistent with the Act and with the rules; a regulation that cuts across either is open to challenge.
Section 95(2) lists matters "in particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power". They are eleven in number and each points to a section of the Act.
| Clause of s.95(2) | Matter | Section of the Act |
|---|---|---|
| (a) | Duties and jurisdiction of the Registrars | 12(4) |
| (b) | Term of office and conditions of service of the Registrars | 12(5) |
| (c) | Criteria of distinctiveness, uniformity and stability for registering an extant variety | 15(2) |
| (d) | The manner in which a single and distinct denomination is assigned by the applicant | 17(1) |
| (e) | Matters governing the assignment of a denomination | 17(2) |
| (f) | Time within which the Registrar may require another denomination | 17(3) |
| (g) | The form of application | 18(1)(d) |
| (h) | Standards for evaluating seed during tests | 19(1) |
| (i) | Quantity of seeds or propagating material, including parental line seeds, to be deposited and the time | 27(1) |
| (j) | Limitations and conditions for a breeder's authorisation to produce, sell, market or deal | 28(2) |
| (k) | The form for authorisation | 28(3) |
These heads are the source of the Protection of Plant Varieties and Farmers' Rights Regulations, 2006. The Registrars' duties, jurisdiction and service conditions are in regulations 1 to 5A. Denominations, application forms, seed standards, the Gene Bank deposit and the Form 1A conditions follow in the later regulations. The DUS criteria for extant varieties (clause (c)) are the subject of the separate Criteria Regulations, 2009. If your plan involves a licence, a denomination or a deposit, the regulations hold the working detail, and our legal consultation team can help you read them with the Act.
Section 96: rules by the Central Government
Section 96(1): "The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, make rules to carry out the provisions of this Act." Section 96(2) then lists matters "in particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing power", from clause (i) to clause (lxviii).
Reproducing all sixty-eight clauses would add little. The table groups them by subject and shows where the PPV&FR Rules, 2003 and other instruments deal with each group.
| Clauses of s.96(2) | Subject | Where it is made |
|---|---|---|
| (i)-(ii) | Chairperson's term, salary and conditions; allowances of non-official members | Rules 11-15 |
| (iii) | Time and place of meetings, procedure, quorum, the Standing Committee's business | Rules 16-18 |
| (iv), (ix) | Appointment and service conditions of officers and employees; the Registrar-General's salary and service conditions | Rules on the Registrar-General and officers; read the Authority's published text |
| (v)-(viii) | Chairperson's powers; extant-variety registration measures; arranging seed production and sale; costs | Rules 21, 22, 22A-22C, 36A |
| (x) | Matters in the National Register | Rule 23 |
| (xi)-(xiv) | Authorising a person to apply; application fees and particulars; the farmers' variety form; proof of the right to apply | Rules 25-27, 25A, Second Schedule, Sixth Schedule |
| (xv)-(xvi) | Test fees; manner and method of tests | Rules 28-29 |
| (xvii)-(xx) | Advertisement, notice of opposition, counter-statement and evidence | Rules 30-33 |
| (xxi)-(xxii) | Essentially derived varieties: documents, fees, tests and certificate | Rules 34-36 |
| (xxiii)-(xxv) | Certificate of registration, notice to the applicant, review and renewal fees | Rules 37-39 |
| (xxvi)-(xxix) | Benefit sharing: publication, claims, opposition, reference | Rules 40-44 |
| (xxx)-(xxxviii) | Registration of agents and licensees, disputes, variation and cancellation of terms | Rules 45-49 |
| (xxxix)-(xlii) | Surrender and revocation | Rules 50-53 |
| (xliii)-(xlvi) | Manner of depositing the annual fee; applications under s.36 | Rules 54-59 |
| (xlvii)-(li) | Correction of the Register; alteration of a denomination | Rules 60-65 |
| (lii)-(lvi) | Recognition and reward; compensation claims; community claims; benefit sharing; Gene Fund | Rules 66-70 and the Gene Fund instruments |
| (lvii)-(lix) | Compulsory licence: application, making material available, revocation | Rules 71-73 |
| (lx)-(lxi) | Period and form of appeal under s.56 | Now governed by the High Court's rules after the 2021 change |
| (lxii)-(lxiii) | Annual statement of accounts; Chairperson's financial and administrative powers | Rules 74 and 74A |
| (lxiv) | Manner of using the denomination of a variety | Use of Denomination Rules, 2012 |
| (lxv)-(lxvii) | Authorising an agent or licensee to sue; certified copies; fees for copies and inspection | Rules 75-76 and the Second Schedule |
| (lxviii) | Any other matter to be prescribed, or where the Act "makes no provision or makes insufficient provision" | Residual |
Three things stand out.
The appeal clauses are partly spent. Clauses (lx) and (lxi) still speak of the period and form of an appeal under section 56. Since the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021, appeals lie to the High Court, and "prescribed" for High Court proceedings now means the High Court's own rules (section 2(q)). See sections 54 to 59.
Clause (iii) carries bracketed words. The text of the clause includes "". The brackets are in the printed text.
Clause (lxviii) is a residual power. It covers "any other matter which is to be, or may be, prescribed or in respect of which this Act makes no provision or makes insufficient provision and provision is, in the opinion of the Central Government, necessary for the proper implementation of this Act." It is wide, but it can only be used to carry out the Act.
The first rules were notified under this section as G.S.R. 738(E) of 12 September 2003; the amendments up to 2021 are collected in rules 1 and 2.
Section 97: laying before Parliament
"Every rule and every regulation and every scheme made under this Act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each House of Parliament, while it is in session, for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or in two or more successive sessions."
| Step | What the section says |
|---|---|
| What is laid | Every rule, every regulation and every scheme |
| When | As soon as may be after it is made |
| Where | Before each House of Parliament, while in session |
| For how long | A total of thirty days, in one session or in two or more successive sessions |
| What Parliament may do | Both Houses agree in a modification, or agree that it should not be made, before the expiry of the session immediately following |
| Result | The instrument has effect only in the modified form, or is of no effect |
| Saving | Modification or annulment is "without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done" under it |
The word "scheme" matters. Schemes made under the Act, such as the Scheme of 2015 on community claims, are in the same position as rules and regulations. Orders under section 94 are laid under that section, not this one.
Need help with reading the Act together with its rules and regulations?
Working out which instrument governs your application, licence or claim takes patience, because the Act, the Rules, the Regulations and the schemes each carry part of the answer. Our legal consultation team can map your facts to the right layer and the right form.
Key takeaways
- The Authority makes regulations, with the Central Government's previous approval; they must be consistent with the Act and the rules (s.95).
- The Central Government makes rules by Gazette notification on the sixty-eight heads in s.96(2) and any residual matter.
- Appeal clauses (lx) and (lxi) now operate against the High Court's rules after the Tribunals Reforms Act, 2021.
- Every rule, regulation and scheme is laid for thirty days; Parliament may modify or annul it without undoing past acts (s.97).
- Read the Act, Rules 2003, Regulations 2006 and the schemes together, and check plantauthority.gov.in for later notifications.
Read next
- Rules 1 and 2: short title, definitions and amendment history
- Regulations 1-5A of the PPV&FR Regulations, 2006
- Section 1: short title, extent and commencement
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.