Court fee on a civil suit in West Bengal is charged under the West Bengal Court Fees Act, 1970. For most property claims it is ad valorem — a proportion of the value of the subject matter — and the value is not chosen by the plaintiff but fixed by the Act according to the relief claimed. Court fee is only one component of the cost of a matter: process fees, the cost of certified copies and searches, the fees of any commissioner appointed, and the advocate’s professional fees are separate, and the last is not fixed by statute.
How a suit is valued
The valuation of a suit is a question of law, not of preference, and it does the work of fixing two things at once: the court fee payable and, through it, the court that has jurisdiction.
The Act prescribes how each kind of relief is valued. A suit for money is valued at the amount claimed. A suit for possession of immovable property is valued by reference to the value of the property. A suit for a declaration of title, where possession is also sought, is valued differently from one where it is not. A suit for partition is valued on the plaintiff’s share, and differently again where the plaintiff is out of possession. A suit for cancellation of a document is valued by reference to the value of the subject matter of the document. A suit for an injunction simply restraining an act, without any claim to property, may be valued on a different footing altogether.
The consequence of getting this wrong is not merely a demand for the deficit. A suit deliberately undervalued to bring it within the pecuniary limits of a lower court is open to objection, and a decree passed by a court that lacked pecuniary jurisdiction is vulnerable. Valuation is settled before a plaint is filed, not after.
[VERIFY: current ad valorem scale and the maximum fee under the West Bengal Court Fees Act, 1970, and the current fixed fees on applications, appeals, caveats and process — obtain the current schedule as amended before publishing any figure. Do not publish a rate from an unofficial source.]
What else is paid to the court
Beyond the fee on the plaint, a matter attracts fees at several points: on interlocutory applications, on appeals and revisions, on the process by which each defendant is served, on the filing of a caveat, and on certified copies of orders, decrees and depositions. Where the court appoints a commissioner — to make a local investigation, to measure and demarcate land, or to record evidence — that person’s remuneration is fixed by the court and paid by the party who applied, and in a boundary or partition matter it can be a significant item.
Costs that are not court fees
Searches and copies. Certified copies of deeds, extracts of the record of rights, encumbrance searches and mouza maps are obtained on payment of the prescribed charges. In a title matter these are incurred at the outset and are the least avoidable expenditure in the case.
Valuation and survey. Where area, boundary or the value of a share is in issue, a surveyor’s or valuer’s report may be needed.
Advocate’s fees. These are not fixed by statute and are agreed between the advocate and the client. What can properly be said in advance is what the matter is likely to involve — the stages, the number of appearances a stage of that kind ordinarily takes, and where the uncertainty lies. Advocates at the chambers set out the basis on which fees will be charged before a matter is accepted.
Recovery of costs, and refund
A decree may award costs against the losing party, but the amount awarded is taxed by the court and is ordinarily well below what a party has actually spent. A civil matter should not be undertaken on the expectation that costs will make it self-financing.
Where a suit is settled through a Lok Adalat, the court fee paid is refunded under the Legal Services Authorities Act, 1987. That is a real financial reason to consider mediation or a Lok Adalat referral in a matter capable of settlement, and it is available at any stage.
What drives the cost of a property matter
Three things, in order. The number of parties — a partition among many heirs, several of whom are abroad or untraceable, costs more in service and in time than a two-party title suit of the same value. The state of the record — a matter in which the record of rights, the deeds and the position on the ground agree is far cheaper to conduct than one in which they do not, which is the practical argument for a search before purchase rather than a suit after. And whether interlocutory relief is required at the outset, since an application for an injunction is a contested proceeding in itself.
Frequently asked questions
Is court fee refundable if I win?
No. A decree may award costs, taxed by the court, against the losing party, but the fee itself is not refunded on success. It is refunded where the matter is settled through a Lok Adalat.
Can I value my suit at a low figure to reduce the fee?
No. Valuation is fixed by the West Bengal Court Fees Act, 1970 according to the relief claimed. Undervaluation is open to objection and can affect the validity of the decree.
Will the other side pay my advocate’s fees if I win?
Costs awarded by a court are taxed and are ordinarily far less than the fees actually incurred.
Are fees payable in instalments as the case proceeds?
Court fee on the plaint is paid on filing. Other court fees fall due as each application or appeal is made. How professional fees are structured is a matter of agreement.
The schedules to the West Bengal Court Fees Act, 1970 are amended from time to time and the fee for a particular suit depends on the relief claimed and the valuation arrived at. This page describes the general position and is not advice on any particular matter.