FEES IN OTHER COURTS AND IN PUBLIC OFFICESCentral

Section 12 of The Court-Fees Act, 1870

(i)Every question relating to valuation for the purpose of determining the amount of any fee chargeable under this Chapter on a plaint or memorandum of appeal, shall be decided by the Court in which such plaint or memorandum, as the case may be, is filed, and such decision shall be final as between the parties to the suit.
(ii)But whenever any such suit comes before a Court of appeal, reference or revision, if such Court considers that the said question has been wrongly decided to the detriment of the revenue, it shall require the party by whom such fee has been paid to pay so much additional fee as would have been payable had the question been rightly decided, and the provisions of section 10, paragraph (ii), shall apply. STATE AMENDMENT Orissa Amendment of section 12 of Act (7 of 1870).-- (1) In section 12 of the principal Act, for paragraph ii, the following paragraph shall be substituted:-- "ii. But whenever any such suit comes before a Court of appeal, reference or revision, if such Court considers that the said question has been wrongly decided, it shall--

(a)in any case in which the decision is to the detriment of revenue, require the party by whom such fee has been paid, to pay so much additional fee as would have been payable had the question been rightly decided and thereafter--
1. (i)if the party required to pay is the appellant or petitioner, the appeal or petition shall be stayed until the additional fee is paid. If the additional fee is not paid within such time as the Court shall fix, the appeal or petition shall be dismissed;
2. (ii)if the party required to pay it‘s the respondent or the opposite party, the Court shall fix a date before which such party shall pay the amount of court fee due from him and, if such party fails to pay the fee required before the date fixed by the Court, the Court shall recover the amount of such fee from him as if it were an arrear of land revenue. Where the Court considers that the amount of such fee should be paid to the respondent or the opposite party by the appellant or the petitioner, as the case may be , the Court may provide for such payment in the order as to costs in the said appeal or petition; and
(b)in any case in which the decision is that any excess fee has been levied, direct the refund of so much excess fee to the party who paid it as would not have been payable had the question been rightly decided. Explanation.--For the purposes of this section a question relating to the classification of any suit in regard to section 7 shall not be deemed to be a question relating to valuation." [Vide Orissa Act 5 of 1939, s. 13]

Summary

This provision states that any dispute about how a case is valued to calculate court fees must be decided by the court where the lawsuit or appeal is filed.
The decision made by that initial court is final and binding between the opposing parties in the lawsuit.
If the case goes to a court of appeal, a reference court, or a revision court, and that court finds the valuation was wrongly decided in a way that hurt government revenue, it must step in.
In such a case, the higher court will force the party who paid the fee to pay the additional amount that should have been charged.
Under the referenced rules of section 10, paragraph (ii), the court will pause the case until this extra payment is made, and if the party fails to pay within the time limit set by the court, the case will be dismissed.

Practical examples

1Ramesh files a lawsuit in a local civil court on November 5, 2025, to recover a piece of land. He values the land at 50,000 rupees and pays the corresponding court fee. The defendant, Suresh, argues the land is actually worth 150,000 rupees. The judge hears both sides and decides the land is worth 50,000 rupees. Under this rule, the judge's decision is final between Ramesh and Suresh, and Suresh cannot keep arguing about the valuation in that court.

2In the same lawsuit, Ramesh appeals the final judgment to a higher court in 2026. The appeals court judge looks at the papers and realizes the lower court made a major mistake under the Court-Fees Act, 1870, valuing the land at only 50,000 rupees when the law clearly required it to be valued at 150,000 rupees. This mistake hurt the government's revenue. The appeals court orders Ramesh to pay the extra court fee based on the 150,000 rupees value. The court pauses his appeal and warns him that if he does not pay the extra fee within 30 days, his appeal will be thrown out.

FAQ

1. Who has the authority to decide a dispute about valuation under Section 12 of The Court-Fees Act, 1870?

Under Section 12 of The Court-Fees Act, 1870, the court where the lawsuit (plaint) or the appeal (memorandum of appeal) is actually filed has the authority to decide any question about valuation.

2. Is a court's decision on valuation under Section 12 of the Court-fees Act final?

Yes, Section 12 of the Court-fees Act states that the decision of the court where the case is filed is final as between the parties to the lawsuit, though a higher court can still review it if the valuation was too low and hurt government revenue.

3. What happens if an appeals court finds that a case was undervalued to the detriment of revenue under Section 12 of the Court-fees Act?

Under Section 12 of the Court-fees Act, if an appellate court, reference court, or revision court finds that the valuation question was wrongly decided to the detriment of government revenue, it will require the party who paid the fee to pay the additional fee. The case will be paused until the fee is paid, and if the party fails to pay within the time fixed by the court, the case will be dismissed.

4. Which other provision of the Court-fees Act is triggered when a higher court finds a valuation mistake under Section 12?

When a court of appeal, reference, or revision finds a valuation mistake under Section 12 of the Court-fees Act, it applies the provisions of Section 10, paragraph (ii), which requires the court to pause the case and dismiss it if the extra fee is not paid within the fixed time.

Test yourself

Q1.Under Section 12 of The Court-Fees Act, 1870, if a trial court decides a dispute regarding the valuation of a suit, what is the legal status of that decision?

Q2.Suppose a Court of Appeal reviews a case and discovers under Section 12 of The Court-Fees Act, 1870, that the trial court wrongly decided a valuation question, resulting in a lower court fee that harmed government revenue. What action must the Court of Appeal take?

Q3.Under Section 12 of The Court-Fees Act, 1870, when a higher court orders a party to pay an additional court fee because of a wrong valuation, what procedure under Section 10, paragraph (ii) of the same Act must be followed?

Q4.Which of the following courts does NOT have the power under Section 12 of The Court-Fees Act, 1870, to order a party to pay an additional court fee for a wrongly decided valuation that hurt the revenue?

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