Fee for Making a Complaint
Rule 7 of the Consumer Protection (Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions) Rules, 2020 requires every complaint to a District, State or National Commission to be accompanied by the fee in the Table. The Table now in force was substituted by the Amendment Rules, 2023 (G.S.R. 606(E) dated 17 August 2023).
The Commission column is added from the Jurisdiction Rules, 2021. The 2023 Table itself prints only the value and the fee.
| Sl. No. | Value of goods or services paid as consideration | Amount of fee payable | Commission (Jurisdiction Rules, 2021) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Upto ₹5 lakh | Nil | District Commission |
| 2 | Above ₹5 lakh and upto ₹10 lakh | ₹200 | District Commission |
| 3 | Above ₹10 lakh and upto ₹20 lakh | ₹400 | District Commission |
| 4 | Above ₹20 lakh and upto ₹50 lakh | ₹1,000 | District Commission |
| 5 | Above ₹50 lakh and upto ₹1 crore | ₹2,000 | State Commission |
| 6 | Above ₹1 crore and upto ₹2 crore | ₹2,500 | State Commission |
| 7 | Above ₹2 crore and upto ₹4 crore | ₹3,000 | National Commission |
| 8 | Above ₹4 crore and upto ₹6 crore | ₹4,000 | National Commission |
| 9 | Above ₹6 crore and upto ₹8 crore | ₹5,000 | National Commission |
| 10 | Above ₹8 crore and upto ₹10 crore | ₹6,000 | National Commission |
| 11 | Above ₹10 crore | ₹7,500 | National Commission |
The fee amounts are the same in the 2020 Rules, the 2022 Table and the 2023 Table. The 2022 Table (G.S.R. 892(E)) regrouped the slabs under the three Commissions after the jurisdiction limits changed, and the 2023 Table lists the eleven slabs without Commission headings.
Work Out Your Complaint Fee and Commission
Enter the value of the goods or services paid as consideration. The fee follows the Table in rule 7 and the Commission follows the Jurisdiction Rules, 2021.
The value is what was paid as consideration for the goods or services, not the compensation claimed. Fees for appeals, revision petitions and other applications are not in rule 7 and are not worked out here.
Pecuniary Jurisdiction of the Three Commissions
The Consumer Protection (Jurisdiction of the District Commission, the State Commission and the National Commission) Rules, 2021 (G.S.R. 912(E) dated 30 December 2021) fix the limits by the value of the goods or services paid as consideration.
| Commission | Value of the goods or services paid as consideration | Rule |
|---|---|---|
| District Commission | Does not exceed ₹50 lakh | Rule 3, read with section 34(1) of the Act |
| State Commission | Exceeds ₹50 lakh but does not exceed ₹2 crore | Rule 4, read with section 47(1)(a)(i) of the Act |
| National Commission | Exceeds ₹2 crore | Rule 5, read with section 58(1)(a)(i) of the Act |
The Rules came into force on publication in the Official Gazette (Gazette dated 30 December 2021).
How the Fee Is Paid and Where It Goes
| Point | What rule 7 says |
|---|---|
| Mode of payment | Crossed demand draft drawn on a nationalised bank, or crossed Indian Postal Order, or electronic mode as per arrangement made by the Commission concerned |
| In whose favour | President of the District Commission, Registrar of the State Commission or Registrar of the National Commission, payable at the place where that Commission is situated |
| Credit of the fee, District and State Commission | Consumer Welfare Fund of the State, or the appropriate account of the State Government where no such Fund is established |
| Credit of the fee, National Commission | Consumer Welfare Fund of the Central Government |
Late Fee and Penalty
Whoever fails to comply with an order of the District, State or National Commission is punishable with imprisonment of not less than one month and up to three years, or a fine of not less than ₹25,000 and up to ₹1 lakh, or both. The Commission tries the offence summarily with the powers of a Judicial Magistrate of first class. CP Act 2019 · s.72
A Commission does not admit a complaint unless it is filed within two years from the date on which the cause of action arose. A later complaint is entertained only if the complainant shows sufficient cause and the Commission records its reasons for condoning the delay. CP Act 2019 · s.69
An appeal against a District Commission order lies to the State Commission within 45 days. A person ordered to pay an amount has to deposit 50 per cent of that amount before the appeal is entertained. CP Act 2019 · s.41
What You Pay in Common Cases
Mobile phone bought for ₹45,000
Car bought for ₹12 lakh
Flat bought for ₹1.5 crore
Two flats bought for ₹5 crore in all
How to Apply and Pay
- 1Check you are a consumerA buyer of goods or a user of services for consideration, not for resale or a commercial purpose (s.2(7)).
- 2Pick the CommissionBy the value paid as consideration (Jurisdiction Rules, 2021), and the place where the opposite party works or the cause of action arose, or where you reside or work for gain (s.34(2)).
- 3File within two yearsFrom the date the cause of action arose; later only with sufficient cause (s.69).
- 4Pay the feeCrossed demand draft, crossed Indian Postal Order or electronic mode, as per the Table in rule 7.
- 5File the setsDistrict Commission: three sets plus one for each opposite party (regulation 7(1)). Electronic filing is allowed as notified (s.35(1) proviso, rule 8).
- 6Admission and replyAdmissibility is ordinarily decided within 21 days; the opposite party gets 30 days, extendable by 15, to give its version (s.36(2), s.38(3)).
Documents to file with it
- Complaint clearly giving the particulars of the dispute and the relief claimed (regulation 7(4))
- Copies of the documents necessary to prove the claim made in the complaint (regulation 7(4))
- Fee in the form required by rule 7(1), where the value is above ₹5 lakh
- District Commission: three sets, with additional sets equal to the number of opposite parties (regulation 7(1))
- State Commission: three sets or the number decided by its President, with additional sets for the opposite parties (regulation 7(2))
- National Commission: two sets; sets for the opposite parties within a week of admission or notice (regulation 7(3))
- Where the complaint is late, the grounds showing sufficient cause for not filing within two years (s.69(2))
How to Use This Chart
- Take the value of the goods or services paid as consideration, not the compensation claimed, to find both the Commission and the fee slab.
- A value of exactly ₹50 lakh stays with the District Commission and a value of exactly ₹2 crore stays with the State Commission.
- Fees for appeals, revision petitions and other applications are not in rule 7 and are not shown.
- Territorial jurisdiction, limitation and the procedure for e-filing are outside this chart.
- The chart applies the amendment rules saved on file up to G.S.R. 606(E) dated 17 August 2023. Any later amendment to rule 7 or to the Jurisdiction Rules, 2021 is not included.
- The fee a Commission may ask the complainant to deposit for laboratory analysis or testing of goods (s.38(2)(d)) is specified separately and is not shown.
- Electronic filing applies from the dates and for the categories of cases notified by the President of the National Commission (rule 8). Those notifications are not among the saved texts.
Official documents behind this page
- Consumer Protection (Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions) (Amendment) Rules, 2023, G.S.R. 606(E)Rule 2: Table in rule 7(2) of the 2020 Rules substituted, Sl. No. 1 to 11, value slabs and amount of fee payable.
- Consumer Protection (Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions) Amendment Rules, 2022, G.S.R. 892(E)Rule 2: earlier substituted Table grouping Sl. 1 to 4 under District Commission, 5 and 6 under State Commission, 7 to 11 under National Commission.
- Consumer Protection (Consumer Disputes Redressal Commissions) Rules, 2020, G.S.R. 448(E)Rule 7(1) (fee to accompany complaint, mode of payment) and rule 7(2) (credit of fee to the Consumer Welfare Fund), with the original Table.
- Consumer Protection (Jurisdiction of the District Commission, the State Commission and the National Commission) Rules, 2021, G.S.R. 912(E)Rule 3 (District Commission, not exceeding fifty lakh rupees), rule 4 (State Commission, exceeding fifty lakh but not exceeding two crore rupees), rule 5 (National Commission, exceeding two crore rupees).
- Consumer Protection Act, 2019 (35 of 2019)Section 2(7) (consumer), section 34(2) (place of filing), section 35 (who may file, fee, electronic filing), section 36(2) and (3) (admission within 21 days), section 38(3) and (7) (version in 30 plus 15 days, decision in three or five months), section 40 (review within 30 days), section 41 (appeal in 45 days, 50 per cent deposit), section 69 (two year limitation), section 72 (penalty for non-compliance of orders).
- Consumer Protection (Consumer Commission Procedure) Regulations, 2020Regulation 3(4) (appearance in person, through agent or counsel), regulation 7 (sets to be filed, contents of complaint), regulation 9 (scrutiny, defects to be removed in fifteen days).
Disclaimer: This chart reproduces fees and rates from the official documents listed above, as read on 2 October 2026. It is general information, not professional advice for your case. Fees, rates and slabs are changed by notification, and the amount the authority’s portal or challan asks for on the day you pay is the one that applies. The calculator only adds up the figures on this page; it does not know your facts or any later change. TaxClue is not responsible for a decision taken on this page alone. Check the current notification on the official website before you pay or file.