Section 8 of the Court Fees Act, 1870: Fee on Appeal Against Compensation Order
Section 8 of the Court Fees Act, 1870 prescribes the basis for computing court fee on a memorandum of appeal against an order relating to compensation for acquisition of land for a public purpose.
Updated: 22 September 2026
What Section 8 provides
The amount of fee payable under the Act on a memorandum of appeal against an order relating to compensation under a law in force for acquisition of land for public purposes is computed according to the difference between the amount awarded and the amount claimed by the appellant.
In practical terms, Section 8 links the court-fee valuation of the appeal to the additional compensation sought by the appellant. The relevant figure is therefore the difference between the compensation already awarded and the compensation claimed in appeal, subject to the court-fee law and any State amendment applicable in the jurisdiction concerned.
How the court fee is computed
The provision supplies the valuation basis; the actual fee payable must be determined by applying the applicable court-fee schedule, rate and State amendments. Court-fee legislation has State-specific modifications, so the amount should not be calculated from the central text alone where a local amendment applies.
Meaning of key terms
Memorandum of appeal
A memorandum of appeal is the formal document by which an appellant invokes the appellate jurisdiction of a competent court or tribunal against an appealable order or award.
Compensation
For Section 8, the provision concerns an order relating to compensation under a law for acquisition of land for public purposes. The section determines the value on which the appeal fee is computed; it does not itself determine the substantive entitlement to compensation.
Amount awarded and amount claimed
The "amount awarded" is the compensation granted by the order or award under challenge. The "amount claimed" is the compensation sought by the appellant in the appeal. Section 8 uses the difference between these figures as the basis for court-fee computation.
Land acquisition law: present legal context
The old footnote commonly reproduced with Section 8 refers to the Land Acquisition Act, 1894. That Act was repealed by Section 114 of the Right to Fair Compensation and Transparency in Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 with effect from 1 January 2014. Section 8 itself is worded broadly and refers to compensation under any law for the time being in force for acquisition of land for public purposes.
State amendments reproduced with Section 8
Odisha (formerly Orissa): Section 8A
The traditional central compilation records an Odisha amendment inserting Section 8A. It requires, in suits where ad valorem court fee is payable on the plaint, particulars of the subject matter and the plaintiff's valuation to be stated in the plaint or in a separate prescribed statement. The court may also direct filing of a duplicate copy. The amendment is attributed to Orissa Act 5 of 1939, Section 11.
Haryana amendment
The Court Fees (Haryana Amendment) Act, 1990 added a proviso to Section 8 providing a fixed court fee of Rs. 100 on a memorandum of appeal or cross-objections before the High Court arising under the Land Acquisition Act, 1894 or another law in force for acquisition of land for public purposes. The uploaded older page incorrectly referred to the "Land Acquisition Act, 1984"; the 1990 Haryana amendment refers to the Land Acquisition Act, 1894.
Official legal resources
For the authoritative statutory text and current legal position, consult the Court Fees Act, 1870 on India Code. Because State amendments may materially alter court-fee liability, also check the relevant State legislation and the rules or notifications applicable to the court in which the appeal is to be filed.