The procedure for entering the PCT national phase in India is set out in entering the PCT national phase in India. This note covers the other half of it — what a foreign firm instructing Indian counsel needs to have ready, when, and which pieces cannot be produced at the last minute because somebody other than you has to sign them.
Quick reference
| Deadline | 31 months from the earliest priority date |
| Extendable? | No. There is no restoration and no late entry |
| Who may act | A patent agent registered under section 126, or an advocate |
| Authorisation | Form 26 |
| Signed by the applicant | Form 26, proof of right, declaration of inventorship |
| Comfortable lead time | Three to four weeks before the deadline |
| Minimum workable | About a week, if the executed documents already exist |
| Request for examination | Form 18, now due at the same 31 months |
| Continuing duty | Form 3, updated as corresponding foreign applications progress |
The deadline does not move
India takes the 31-month deadline rather than 30, which is the one piece of good news. It does not extend it.
There is no restoration provision for a missed national phase entry in India, no petition, and no fee that fixes it. A file that arrives on month 32 is not a file we can rescue.
That single fact should drive the diary. Every other deadline in this note can absorb a few days of slippage; this one absorbs none.
What only the applicant can execute
This is the part that causes missed deadlines, because the documents are not ones the instructing firm can produce on its own.
Form 26 — the power of attorney. Executed by the applicant in favour of the Indian agent. Getting it to the correct signatory inside a corporate applicant, particularly across time zones and holidays, is routinely the slowest step in the whole instruction.
It can be filed within a short period after entry where necessary, but the practical answer is to have it executed early. If you act for the applicant regularly, a general power covering future filings saves this step every time.
Proof of right. Where the applicant is not the inventor, section 7(2) requires proof of the applicant’s right to apply — an assignment from the inventors, or an endorsement on Form 1. Employment alone is not assumed. For a corporate applicant with inventors in several countries this can take weeks to assemble, and it is the item most often discovered missing at the deadline.
See proof of right.
Declaration of inventorship. Signed, naming the inventors as recorded internationally.
A verified English translation, where the international application was not filed in English — including any text appearing in the drawings, which is the part people forget.
What we draw from the international file
Most of the substance comes from the International Bureau’s record rather than from you: the specification as it stands internationally, including any Article 19 or Article 34 amendments the applicant wants to rely on, and usually the priority document.
The important constraint is that the specification filed in India must match the IB record. India will not accept amended claims at the point of entry, nor changes to applicant or inventor names and addresses unless those were recorded internationally first.
The one thing permitted at entry is deletion of claims, which needs no petition and is commonly used to bring the claim count under the fee threshold.
Firms used to reshaping claims on national entry elsewhere are caught by this regularly. If claims need amending, it happens after entry, by a separate application.
The fee structure, briefly
The official fee covers 30 pages and 10 claims. Everything beyond that is charged per page and per claim.
For a long specification with a large claim set — common in chemistry and life sciences — the excess can exceed the base fee substantially. It is worth telling us the page and claim count early so the quote is right first time, and so the deletion-of-claims option can be considered on its merits rather than in a hurry.
The request for examination is now the same deadline
The request for examination on Form 18 is due at 31 months from priority, the same moment as entry itself. It used to sit 48 months out, and material written before the change still says so.
In practice this means examination is requested with the entry rather than being a separate decision taken a year later. If the applicant’s strategy was to defer the cost and decide later, that option has gone.
The obligation that continues after entry
Form 3 is the statement and undertaking about corresponding applications filed outside India, and it is not a one-off filing at entry. The undertaking continues: as the family progresses elsewhere, the Indian office must be kept informed.
It matters more than its mundane appearance suggests. Failure to disclose under section 8 is a ground of revocation, and it has been litigated.
For an instructing firm this is the obligation most likely to fall between the cracks, because the information sits with you and the duty sits with the Indian file. A standing arrangement to send family updates is worth more than a reminder system on our side.
See Form 3 — statement and undertaking.
Lead times that actually work
Three to four weeks before the 31-month date is comfortable. It allows for the Form 26 to be executed, proof of right to be chased, translations to be verified and the fee to be settled against the real page and claim count.
About a week is workable where the executed documents already exist and the application is in English.
Days is possible and we do it, but the risk moves onto the parts you cannot control — a signatory on leave, a translation that needs re-verification, an assignment nobody can locate.
What helps most, when the instruction first goes out:
- the international application number and the earliest priority date, so we can confirm the 31-month date against our own calculation;
- the page and claim count, for an accurate fee estimate;
- whether the application is in English;
- whether Article 19 or 34 amendments are to be relied on;
- whether proof of right exists, and in what form; and
- whether a general power is already on file with us.
If you also need a foreign filing licence
A separate point that catches applicants with Indian inventors. Where an invention was made in India, section 39 requires a foreign filing licence before filing abroad, unless an Indian application was filed first and six weeks have passed without a secrecy direction.
This is an issue for the applicant’s earlier filings rather than for national phase entry, but it surfaces during entry often enough to be worth raising. The consequence of having got it wrong is not trivial.
Frequently asked questions
What is the deadline for PCT national phase entry in India? Thirty-one months from the earliest priority date. It is not extendable and there is no restoration.
Can my firm file the application directly? No. Filing and prosecution before the Indian Patent Office is restricted to patent agents registered under section 126, and advocates. A Form 26 authorisation is required.
Can we amend the claims when we enter? No. The specification must match the International Bureau’s record. Deletion of claims is the only change permitted at entry; anything else is done afterwards by a separate amendment application.
When is the request for examination due? At 31 months from priority — the same deadline as entry. Older material saying 48 months is out of date.
What is proof of right and why is it being asked for? Section 7(2) requires evidence that the applicant is entitled to apply where it is not the inventor — typically an assignment. Employment is not assumed, and assembling it across multiple inventors takes time.
How late can we instruct you? We have filed within days where executed documents exist. The parts that cannot be compressed are the ones requiring the applicant’s signature, so the honest answer is to send the instruction as soon as the decision is taken.
Useful official resources
- Indian Patent Office — forms and fees
- WIPO PCT Applicant’s Guide — India
- Patents Act, 1970 — sections 7, 8, 39, 126
- Patents Rules, 2003, as amended
See our related notes on entering the PCT national phase in India, proof of right and Form 3.
Sending an India national phase instruction? Talk to us — we act for foreign firms and can confirm the 31-month date and a fee estimate on the day you write.