Court Fees Structure in Pakistan: 7.5% Rule, Costly Mistakes

Introduction

Every day in the District Courts, even senior practitioners occasionally trip over one small but costly mistake: a wrong court fee calculation. Sometimes an ad valorem fee is affixed where a fixed fee was required, sometimes the difference between Schedule I and Schedule II gets confused, and sometimes an exemption is assumed that does not exist. The result is always the same: an office objection, a delayed admission, wasted client time, and an avoidable embarrassment for a young advocate.

This confusion is understandable. The court fees structure in Pakistan is built on the Court Fees Act, 1870, which extends to the whole of Pakistan under section 1 and which the provinces amend through their own laws.

In Sindh, for example, the Court Fees (Sindh Amendment) Ordinance, 1977 provides that the fee payable under the First Schedule shall not in any case exceed Rs 15,000, and commentary on the Act records that section 7(v) was substituted in Sindh by the Sindh Finance Act.

This guide breaks down the court fees structure in Pakistan step by step, with a focus on Sindh District Courts: which provisions apply to which type of suit, the difference between ad valorem and fixed court fees, the 7.5% rate and the Rs 15,000 maximum, how section 7 values a suit, and a value-wise table for daily practice.

If you want the figure worked out for you, use our free Court Fee Calculator Pakistan.

What Is Court Fee and Which Law Governs It?

A court fee is a statutory levy paid to the court at the time of filing a plaint, application, appeal, or memorandum in civil (and certain criminal) proceedings. It is paid through a court fee stamp or e-stamp ticket. Under Order VII Rule 11(c) CPC, a plaint can be rejected if the proper court fee is not paid after the court has required the deficiency to be made good.

Proper court fee calculation is essential right from the first stage of instituting a civil suit, as covered in detail in our guide on Civil Procedure in Pakistan: From Institution of Suit to Final Judgement. Affixing the court fee stamp to the plaint is itself a mandatory step at the institution stage.

The governing law on court fees in Pakistan is:

• The Court Fees Act, 1870 (Act VII of 1870), which extends to the whole of Pakistan, and whose schedules and section 7 are amended locally by each province.
• The Court Fees (Sind Amendment) Ordinance, 1977 (Sindh Ordinance VII of 1977), which provides that the court fee payable under the First Schedule shall not in any case exceed Rs 15,000.
• The Suits Valuation Act, 1887, which links the valuation of a suit for jurisdiction with its valuation for court fee purposes.
• The West Pakistan Family Courts Act, 1964, section 19, which fixes the court fee at Rs 15 on a plaint or memorandum of appeal for any suit or appeal under that Act.

Two Types of Court Fees: Ad Valorem vs. Fixed

Schedule I and Schedule II of the Court Fees Act provide two fundamentally different mechanisms for computing court fee:

1. Ad Valorem Court Fee (Schedule I)

This fee is calculated as a percentage of the monetary value or subject matter of the suit. The higher the value, the higher the fee, up to a maximum. It applies to money suits, recovery suits, property disputes, and declaratory suits with consequential relief. Schedule I also carries the fees on probate, succession certificates, review applications, High Court revisions and certified copies.

2. Fixed Court Fee (Schedule II)

This is a flat, predetermined amount that does not depend on the value of the claim. It applies to simple declaratory suits without consequential relief, ordinary applications, wakalatnamas, caveats, certain memoranda of appeal and similar documents.

Understanding this distinction is essential, since applying the wrong schedule is one of the most common reasons for an office objection at the time of filing.

Ad Valorem Court Fee: 7.5% With a Maximum of Rs 15,000

Schedule I, No. 1 of the Court Fees Act, 1870 charges seven and a half per cent on the amount or value of the subject matter in dispute, subject to a maximum of Rs 15,000. It applies to a plaint, a written statement pleading a set-off or counterclaim, and a memorandum of appeal or cross-objection. The amount is rounded to the nearest fifty paisas.

In Sindh, the Court Fees (Sind Amendment) Ordinance, 1977 also provides that the fee payable under the First Schedule shall not in any case exceed Rs 15,000.

At 7.5%, the maximum is reached when the value is Rs 2,00,000. Above that value, the fee does not increase. Provinces amend Schedule I and Schedule II amounts through Finance Acts, so confirm the current rate and amounts at the stamp counter before you affix the fee.

Suit Value Wise Court Fee Table at 7.5%

The table below applies 7.5% with a maximum of Rs 15,000. It is a quick reference for daily drafting.

For any other value, multiply the value by 7.5% and round to the nearest fifty paisas, or use our court fee calculator, which also shows the section behind each result.

Is There a Court Fee Exemption for Small Suits?

The Act itself does not exempt suits up to a particular value. Section 35 allows the Government to reduce or remit fees by notification in the Official Gazette, so any concession or exemption must be traced to a notification. If you are told that suits up to a certain value pay nothing, ask for the notification number and read it before you rely on it.

Common Mistake: Treating Rs 15,000 as the fee for every large suit. Rs 15,000 is only a ceiling. A suit worth Rs 1,00,000 pays Rs 7,500, and the ceiling applies only once the value reaches Rs 2,00,000.

Section 7 Categories: How the Value of the Suit Is Fixed

Section 7 of the Court Fees Act, 1870 decides on what value the fee is calculated in each kind of suit. The first step in drafting a plaint is to identify exactly which sub-clause the suit falls under.

Section 7(i), money suits. Suits for money, including damages, compensation, or arrears of maintenance, are valued according to the amount claimed. Example: a suit for recovery of Rs 3,00,000 on a dishonoured cheque pays the maximum of Rs 15,000.

Section 7(ii), maintenance and annuities. The value is deemed to be ten times the amount claimed for one year. Example: for Rs 20,000 per month, the annual figure is Rs 2,40,000 and the value is Rs 24,00,000, so the fee is the maximum of Rs 15,000. A suit in a Family Court is different; see the section on Family Court suits below.

Section 7(iii), movable property with a market value. The value is the market value on the date the plaint is presented. Example: a suit for recovery of a specific vehicle.

Section 7(iv), suits where the plaintiff states the value. This covers movable property with no market value (such as title documents), a right to share in property claimed as joint family property, a declaratory decree where consequential relief is prayed, an injunction, easements and accounts. The plaintiff states the value of the relief, and the court decides any question of valuation under section 12. Example: a suit for a declaration with consequential relief, or a suit by a member of a joint family to enforce a right to share.

Section 7(iv-A), declaration about immovable property based on an alleged sale, gift, exchange or mortgage. The value is the value of the property; in the Act text we checked. Confirm this clause in the Sindh text.

Section 7(v), possession of land, houses and gardens. In the Act text we checked, land that earned net profits in the last year is valued at fifteen times those net profits, land with no net profits at its market value, and a house or garden at its market value. Commentary on the Act records that clause (v) was substituted in Sindh by the Sindh Finance Act and values such suits at market value, so confirm the Sindh text before you rely on the fifteen times rule.

Section 7(vi), pre-emption. For land, the value is the produce index units multiplied by the money value of a produce index as notified, and for a house or garden it follows clause (v). Example: a suit to enforce a right of pre-emption.

Section 7(vii) and (viii). An assignee of land revenue is valued at fifteen times the net profit, and a suit to set aside an attachment is valued at the amount for which the land or interest was attached.

Section 7(ix), mortgage suits. A suit to redeem or foreclose a mortgage is valued at the principal money secured by the mortgage deed.

Section 7(x), specific performance. A contract of sale is valued at the amount of the consideration, a contract of mortgage at the amount agreed to be secured, a contract of lease at the fine or premium plus the rent for the first year, and an award at the amount or value of the property in dispute. Example: specific performance of a sale agreement for Rs 50,00,000 is valued at Rs 50,00,000, so the fee is the maximum of Rs 15,000.

Section 7(xi), landlord and tenant suits. These suits, such as a suit to enhance rent, to contest a notice of ejectment, for abatement of rent, or to recover immovable property from a tenant, are valued at the annual rent payable for the year before the plaint. Example: an annual rent of Rs 1,20,000 gives a fee of Rs 9,000.

Section 7(xii), other suits. A suit not provided for is valued at the value claimed, and the fee is never less than Rs 15.

Where a suit joins two or more distinct subjects, section 17 adds together the fees that each subject would attract separately. The court decides valuation questions under section 12, and an appellate court can require additional fee if a question was wrongly decided.

Fixed Court Fees Under Schedule II and Other Common Fees

The amounts below are the ones printed in the Act text we checked. Provinces revise them through Finance Acts, so confirm the current figure at the stamp counter. In day-to-day practice in Sindh District Courts, a wakalatnama takes a Rs 2 stamp and an application takes a Rs 2 or Rs 5 stamp.

• Simple declaratory suit where no consequential relief is prayed: Rs 30 (Schedule II, No. 11(iii))
• Suit to set aside an alienation: Rs 15, and a suit to set aside an award or an adoption, to alter a summary order, or any suit that cannot be valued in money: Rs 10 (Schedule II, No. 11)
• Ordinary application or petition to a civil, criminal or revenue court: Rs 2 (Schedule II, No. 1(b))
• Application for transfer of a case to a court other than a High Court: Rs 5 (Schedule II, No. 1(c)(ii))
• Wakalatnama or Mukhtarnama for one case in a court other than a High Court: Rs 2 (Schedule II, No. 7(a))
• Caveat: Rs 10 (Schedule II, No. 9)
• Memorandum of appeal that is not from a decree: Rs 3, or Rs 10 in a High Court (Schedule II, No. 8)
• Plaint in a suit under section 9 of the Specific Relief Act: half of the ad valorem fee (Schedule I, No. 2)
• Application for review of judgment: half of the plaint fee if presented before the 90th day from the decree, and the full plaint fee on or after the 90th day (Schedule I, Nos. 3 and 4)
• High Court revision under section 115 CPC against an order: Rs 7.50 if the value is below Rs 2,000, and Rs 15 otherwise (Schedule I, No. 12)
• Probate and letters of administration are not fixed fees. They are ad valorem under Schedule I, No. 9, at 2% (above Rs 1,000 up to Rs 10,000), 3% (above Rs 10,000 up to Rs 50,000) and 4% (above Rs 50,000), and are not chargeable where the property does not exceed Rs 1,000 (section 19(viii)).

Special Position: Family Court Suits

Family suits such as khula, dissolution of marriage, custody, maintenance and dower recovery that are filed in the Family Court are governed by section 19 of the West Pakistan Family Courts Act, 1964, as substituted in 2002. It fixes the court fee at Rs 15 on any plaint or memorandum of appeal for any kind of suit or appeal under that Act, whatever the value of the claim.

This provision covers the plaint and the memorandum of appeal. Other documents, such as a wakalatnama or an application, follow the Court Fees Act schedules.

Criminal Cases: Not a Blanket Exemption

There is no blanket exemption from court fee in criminal matters. A petition of complaint to a criminal court for an offence for which police cannot arrest without a warrant carries Rs 2 under Schedule II, No. 1(b), and section 18 asks the complainant for Re 1 when the first examination is reduced to writing, unless the court remits it.

Section 19 lists documents that are not chargeable at all, such as bail bonds, recognizances, petitions by prisoners, complaints by public servants, and the first application for a witness summons.

Practical Drafting Checklist for Advocates

Follow this sequence before instituting a plaint to avoid office objections:

1. First identify which sub-clause of Section 7 the suit falls under.
2. Determine whether the applicable fee is ad valorem (Schedule I) or fixed (Schedule II).
3. If ad valorem, apply 7.5% to the value fixed under Section 7, round to the nearest fifty paisas, and apply the Rs 15,000 maximum.
4. Check whether a notification under section 35 reduces or remits the fee. Do not assume an exemption.
5. Purchase the court fee stamp or e-stamp ticket from the district treasury or designated bank and affix it to the plaint. The step-by-step breakdown of this stage is in our guide on How to File a Civil Suit for Specific Performance in District Courts.
6. For a suit in the Family Court, apply the Rs 15 fee under section 19 of the Family Courts Act to the plaint or memorandum of appeal.

Conclusion

The court fees structure in Pakistan is a foundational yet often underestimated element of every civil litigation practice. For advocates and law students practising in Sindh District Courts, it is essential to understand the categories under Section 7, the 7.5% rate, the Rs 15,000 maximum, the fixed fees of Schedule II, and the Rs 15 Family Court fee, not just for compliance but to save clients both time and cost. Always confirm the current amounts for your province before you affix the stamp, and use our Court Fee Calculator Pakistan as a working aid.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Disclaimer

This guide is for education and reference and is not legal advice. Fee amounts and rates are amended by provincial laws and notifications, so verify them against the Court Fees Act as applicable in your province before relying on any figure.

Have you ever had a plaint objected to over a court fee miscalculation or come across a suit type this guide didn’t cover? Share your experience in the comments below.