Section 19C of the Court Fees Act 1870 - Relief in Case of Several Grants

Section 19C provides relief against charging court fee more than once on the same estate where more than one grant of probate or letters of administration relates to the same property.

In simple terms: where the full court fee has already been paid on a grant covering the whole estate, a like later grant concerning the whole or part of the same property is not charged again under Section 19C. Where the earlier grant covered only part of the estate, the fee already paid is deducted when a later like grant covers property that is identical with, or includes, that earlier property.

What is Section 19C of the Court Fees Act?

Section 19C forms part of Chapter IIIA of the Court-Fees Act, 1870, which deals with probates, letters of administration and certificates of administration. The provision is titled "Relief in case of several grants". Its purpose is to prevent duplication of court fee in the circumstances specifically described by the section.

Text and effect of Section 19C

Section 19C - Relief in case of several grants.

Where a grant of probate or letters of administration is made for the whole property belonging to an estate and the full fee chargeable under the Act has been paid, no further fee is chargeable when a like grant is made for the whole or any part of the same property belonging to that estate.

Where the earlier grant concerns only property forming part of the estate, the fee actually paid on that grant is deducted when a like grant is later made for property belonging to the same estate that is identical with, or includes, the property covered by the former grant.

The paragraph above is a plain-language presentation of the statutory rule. For authoritative wording, consult the official text of the Act.

How the relief operates

Full estate already covered: if full court fee has been paid on a probate or letters of administration covering the entire estate, a like grant relating to the same estate does not attract a second fee for the same property.
Earlier grant covered part of the estate: the amount of court fee already paid is deducted from the fee applicable to the later like grant where the later grant covers the same property or includes it.
Same estate and property connection: the statutory relief depends on the grants relating to property belonging to the same estate and satisfying the conditions stated in Section 19C.

Meaning of important terms

Probate

Probate is the formal legal recognition of a will by the competent court and authorises the executor to act in accordance with the grant, subject to the applicable succession law and procedure.

Letters of administration

Letters of administration are a court grant authorising an administrator to administer the estate of a deceased person in circumstances where such a grant is required under the applicable succession law.

Like grant

In the context of Section 19C, the expression refers to a subsequent grant of the same relevant character concerning the estate or property already dealt with by an earlier grant. Whether the statutory conditions are met depends on the nature and scope of the grants in the particular case.

Legislative note

Section 19C was inserted by Act 13 of 1875, section 6. The word "such" appearing after "Whenever" in the first paragraph was later repealed by Act 12 of 1891. These historical changes explain the omission marks found in some reproductions of the bare provision.

Practical significance

The provision is designed to avoid duplicate levy on the same estate property merely because more than one qualifying probate or administration grant is required. The first paragraph deals with a case where the earlier grant covers the whole property and the full fee has been paid. The second paragraph deals with an earlier grant covering only part of the estate and gives credit for the fee already paid.

Official text of the Court-Fees Act 1870

For the authoritative Central Act text and the latest available official compilation, refer to the Government of India source:

India Code - The Court-Fees Act, 1870 (Official PDF)

State amendments: Court-fee law may be affected by State amendments, State court-fees legislation, notifications and local rules. For a filing or probate proceeding, the law applicable in the relevant State or Union Territory and the current fee schedule should also be checked.

Related provisions

Section 19C should be read with the neighbouring provisions in Chapter IIIA dealing with court-fee relief and administration of estates, including Section 19A, Section 19B, and Section 19D.