Section 19J of the Court Fees Act, 1870 - Recovery of Penalties

Section 19J deals with the recovery of certain excess court fees, penalties and forfeitures connected with probate and letters of administration. It also gives the Chief Controlling Revenue-authority a power to remit specified penalties, forfeitures or excess amounts.

Current-law note: The central text of Section 19J remains part of the Court-Fees Act, 1870. Court-fee law is also subject to State amendments and State legislation, so the law applicable in the relevant State or Union Territory should be checked before relying on the central text.

Text of Section 19J - Recovery of penalties, etc.

(1) Any excess fee found to be payable on an inquiry held under section 19H, sub-section (6), and any penalty or forfeiture under section 19G may, on the certificate of the Chief Controlling Revenue-authority, be recovered from the executor or administrator as if it were an arrear of land-revenue by any Collector.

(2) The Chief Controlling Revenue-authority may remit the whole or any part of any such penalty or forfeiture, or any part of any penalty under section 19E or of any court-fee under section 19E in excess of the full court-fee which ought to have been paid.

Meaning and scope of Section 19J

The provision operates within Chapter III-A of the Court-Fees Act, which concerns probates, letters of administration and related grants. Section 19J is principally a recovery and remission provision. It does not itself create every underlying liability; instead, it provides a method for recovering amounts arising under connected provisions and gives the revenue authority a limited statutory power of remission.

Recovery under Section 19J(1)

Sub-section (1) covers an excess fee found payable after an inquiry under Section 19H(6), as well as a penalty or forfeiture under Section 19G. On a certificate of the Chief Controlling Revenue-authority, the recoverable amount may be collected from the executor or administrator as an arrear of land revenue by a Collector.

Power of remission under Section 19J(2)

Sub-section (2) authorises the Chief Controlling Revenue-authority to remit the whole or part of a penalty or forfeiture referred to in Section 19J. It also extends to part of a penalty under Section 19E, and to court fee under Section 19E to the extent that it exceeds the full court fee that ought to have been paid.

Related provisions

Section 19E: deals with a case in which too low a court fee was paid on probate or letters of administration because the estate was initially estimated below its subsequently established value.
Section 19G: addresses failure by an executor or administrator to make up deficient court fee within the statutory period after discovering the mistake or previously unknown estate effects.
Section 19H: provides for notice of probate or letters-of-administration applications to revenue authorities and lays down the procedure where valuation of the estate is questioned.

Practical effect

In practical terms, Section 19J links the probate court-fee valuation machinery with the revenue recovery process. Where the statutory conditions are satisfied, the amount certified can be recovered through the mechanism applicable to arrears of land revenue. At the same time, sub-section (2) preserves a statutory discretion in the Chief Controlling Revenue-authority to grant remission within the limits stated in the section.

Legislative history

Section 19J was inserted by Act 11 of 1899, section 2. The former words referring to recovery "in any part of British India" were omitted by the Adaptation of Laws Order, 1948.

Legal information: This page explains the central statutory provision for general reference. State amendments, local court-fee enactments and current rules may alter the position in a particular jurisdiction.