Section 35 of the Court Fees Act, 1870 - Power to Reduce or Remit Fees

Section 35 empowers the appropriate Government, through a notification in the Official Gazette, to reduce or remit fees specified in the First and Second Schedules to the Court Fees Act, 1870. The provision also permits such an order to be cancelled or varied in the same manner.

Meaning and scope of Section 35

The Court Fees Act, 1870 regulates fees payable on specified documents and proceedings. Section 35 is an enabling provision: it gives the competent Government authority to grant a general or targeted reduction or remission where the statutory conditions and the applicable notification permit it. A remission is therefore not inferred merely from hardship; the governing Gazette notification and any conditions attached to it must be examined.

Key legal expressions

Appropriate Government

The expression identifies the Government competent to exercise the statutory power in the territory and subject matter concerned. Because court-fee legislation has significant State amendments and adaptations, the applicable State law and current notification should be checked before relying on a remission.

Reduce or remit

To reduce is to lower the fee otherwise payable. To remit is to waive the fee, wholly or to the extent stated in the notification. The benefit may be subject to territorial, personal, procedural or other conditions contained in the relevant notification.

Notification in the Official Gazette

Section 35 contemplates exercise of the power by a formally published Gazette notification. The notification is important because it defines the extent, beneficiaries, conditions and effective operation of the concession.

Practical point: Court-fee law is affected by State amendments and notifications. The central text should therefore be read together with the law applicable in the State or Union Territory where the proceeding is instituted.

State amendments reproduced in the Act

Odisha (formerly Orissa)

The State amendment substitutes a wider formulation titled "Power to suspend, reduce or remit fees." It permits the State Government, subject to conditions or restrictions, to suspend payment or reduce or remit fees in the whole or any part of the State, and to cancel or vary the order. The reproduced amendment also provides rule-making authority concerning realization of a fee whose payment has been suspended.

Haryana

The Haryana substitution authorizes the State Government, subject to conditions or restrictions, to reduce or remit fees for all or any class of persons throughout or in any part of the territories under its administration, and to cancel or vary the order in the same manner.

Bihar

The Bihar substitution similarly authorizes the State Government, subject to conditions or restrictions, by an order published in the Official Gazette, to reduce or remit court fees for all or any class of persons in the whole or any part of the State and to cancel or vary that order.

How Section 35 operates in practice

When a party claims reduced or remitted court fee, the relevant enquiry is whether a valid Government notification covers the document, proceeding, class of person and territory concerned. The wording and conditions of that notification control the concession. Section 35 itself supplies the enabling power; the particular notification ordinarily supplies the operative benefit.

Official legal source

For the authoritative central text and the State amendments reproduced with the Act, see India Code - The Court-Fees Act, 1870. State-specific amendments and Gazette notifications should also be checked on the relevant State Government or Law Department portal.

Related provisions

Court Fees Act, 1870 overview | Section 34 - Sale of stamps | Section 36 - Saving of fees to certain officers of High Courts

This article is a general statutory reference. Court-fee rates, exemptions, remissions and procedural requirements may differ by State and may be altered by amendment or notification.