The Ministry of Commerce and Industry published draft amendments for comment in 2023. Unusually for a consultation draft, most of it was enacted largely as proposed — which makes this a useful record of where the current rules came from.
What was proposed
Working statements. From annually, every financial year, to once every three years.
Request for examination. From 48 months from the priority date to 31 months — the most consequential change in the draft.
Section 8 timeline. From furnishing information on corresponding foreign applications within six months of undertaking to provide them, to two months from receiving the first statement of objections.
Form 31. A new form for claiming that an application is not anticipated by prior public display, requiring the date of earliest display, confirmation that the display was with the true inventor’s consent, and the nature of the exhibition.
Divisional applications. Express permission to file a divisional application for inventions disclosed in a provisional specification.
Opposition fees. Replacing the existing structure — no fee for pre-grant opposition and a standard fee for post-grant — with a cumulative fee based on the type of application, specification length, number of claims and the kind of examination requested.
Renewal discount. A 10% discount where renewal fees are paid online and in advance for at least four years.
What was enacted
The Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2024 were notified and came into force on 15 March 2024, carrying most of the draft through:
- The 31-month examination request deadline was adopted. This is the change to check against any older checklist — the request for examination now falls due at the same point as PCT national phase entry, rather than seventeen months later.
- Form 27 moved to a three-year cycle, with the form itself substantially simplified.
- Section 8 compliance was eased, with the Controller also empowered to access publicly available databases and to condone delay in filing Form 3 — a meaningful reform of a provision that had become a technical trap in revocation proceedings.
- Form 31 was introduced for the prior public display claim.
- Divisional applications for inventions disclosed in a provisional specification were clarified.
- The renewal discount for advance online payment was adopted.
The cumulative opposition fee proposal drew significant criticism during consultation, on the basis that pricing pre-grant opposition would restrict a public-interest mechanism — and the final rules addressed pre-grant opposition differently from the draft. Check the current fee schedule directly.
Why the shape of it matters
The 2024 Rules follow the pattern of every amendment since 2014: lighter compliance in exchange for tighter applicant deadlines.
The relief is real — three-yearly working statements instead of annual, a workable Section 8 obligation instead of perpetual six-month updates, the ability to condone delay. But the 31-month examination deadline cuts the other way, and it is unforgiving. An applicant used to having four years from priority to decide whether to pursue Indian examination now has two years and seven months, and that decision now coincides with national phase entry rather than following it.
For anyone managing an Indian portfolio, that single change is worth auditing against every pending matter.
The takeaways
- Most of the draft was enacted in the 2024 Rules, in force from 15 March 2024.
- Examination requests now due at 31 months from priority, not 48.
- Working statements every three years, on a simplified form.
- Section 8 eased, with delay condonable and databases accessible to the Controller.
Frequently asked questions
When is a request for examination due in India now? Within 31 months of the earliest priority date, following the Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2024 — reduced from 48 months.
How often must the working statement be filed? Once every three financial years, on a simplified form.
What is Form 31 for? Claiming that an application is not anticipated by prior public display, giving the date of earliest display, confirmation of the inventor’s consent, and the nature of the exhibition.
Is there a discount for paying renewal fees in advance? Yes — a discount applies where renewal fees are paid electronically in advance for at least four years.