Section 14 Court Fees Act 1870 - Refund of Fee on Application for Review of Judgment

Section 14 of the Court-Fees Act, 1870 deals with a limited refund of court fee where an application for review of judgment is presented on or after the ninetieth day from the date of the decree and the delay was not caused by the applicant's laches.

What Section 14 provides

Section 14 - Refund of fee on application for review of judgment.

Where an application for review of judgment is presented on or after the ninetieth day from the date of the decree, the Court may, unless the delay was caused by the applicant's laches, grant a certificate authorizing refund from the Collector of the portion of the fee that exceeds the fee which would have been payable if the application had been presented before that day.

The provision is therefore not an automatic refund rule. The Court has discretion, and the statutory protection is linked to absence of laches on the part of the applicant. The refund is limited to the excess fee resulting from presentation on or after the ninetieth day.

Meaning and conditions of Section 14

  • Application for review: The provision concerns an application asking the Court to review its judgment. Review jurisdiction under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 is principally governed by Section 114 and Order XLVII.
  • Presented on or after the ninetieth day: Section 14 addresses the court-fee consequence where the review application is presented on or after the ninetieth day from the decree.
  • No laches attributable to the applicant: The Court may consider whether the delay resulted from the applicant's own lack of diligence. If the delay was caused by the applicant's laches, the statutory condition for discretionary relief is not met.
  • Discretion of the Court: The section uses discretionary language. Satisfaction of the relevant circumstances permits the Court to grant the certificate; it does not make the refund automatic.
  • Extent of refund: The refund is only the difference between the fee actually paid and the fee that would have been payable if the review application had been presented before the ninetieth day.

Connection with the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908

Section 114 of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 recognizes the power to seek review in the circumstances specified by the Code. Order XLVII contains the procedural rules governing an application for review, including the grounds on which review may be sought. Section 14 of the Court-Fees Act concerns the refund of the relevant court-fee component; it does not itself create or enlarge the substantive grounds for review.

For the official text, see the Court-Fees Act, 1870 on India Code and the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 on India Code.

Relevant fee entries in the First Schedule

The Central Act's First Schedule distinguishes between a review application presented on or after the ninetieth day and one presented before the ninetieth day. Under the Central text, the former attracts the fee leviable on the plaint or memorandum of appeal, while the latter is stated at one-half of that fee. Section 14 provides the mechanism for refunding the excess in the circumstances specified by the section.

Practical effect

If a review application is presented on or after the ninetieth day and the Court is satisfied that the delay was not caused by the applicant's laches, the Court may issue the statutory certificate. The certificate authorizes recovery from the Collector of the excess portion of the fee described in Section 14.

State amendments and local court-fee law:

Court-fee legislation has been amended or replaced in a number of States and Union Territories. The applicable State enactment, amendment, fee schedule, court rules and current filing practice should therefore be checked before calculating a fee or claiming a refund. This page explains Section 14 of the Central Court-Fees Act, 1870.

Related provisions

For nearby provisions, see Section 13 - refund of fee paid on memorandum of appeal and Section 15 - refund where the Court reverses or modifies its former decision on the ground of mistake. The main index is available at Court Fees Act 1870.

Updated: 22 September 2026. Statutory text and filing requirements should be verified against the law applicable in the relevant jurisdiction.