Missed the 30 Sep Form 27 Deadline? Your 3-Month Form 4 Window
You missed the 30 September 2026 Form 27 date. Here is the one remedy still open, the 3-month Form 4 window under Rule 131(2), what it costs, and what happens if you miss that window too.
How-To · Patent Compliance
The 30 September 2026 date for Form 27 has passed and you have not filed. Your first question is whether it is too late. It is not, yet. Rule 131(2) of the Patents Rules, 2003 lets the Controller extend the time for Form 27 by up to three months, if you ask on Form 4 and pay the fee. This guide explains who this applies to, how to use the window, what it costs, and what is at stake if you miss that window as well. Last verified October 2026.
- Due date: 30 September 2026 for the block FY 2023-24 to FY 2025-26.
- Remedy: Form 4 under Rule 131(2), up to 3 months, so until 31 December 2026.
- Fee: reported at Rs 2,000 per month (natural person, startup, small entity) or Rs 10,000 per month (others). Confirm on IP India.
- If you miss it too: no open-ended condonation, and penalty exposure under the Patents Act.
- Last verified: October 2026.
01Where you stand today
Form 27 is the statement of working. Under Section 146(2) of the Patents Act, 1970, read with Rule 131 of the Patents Rules, 2003, every patentee and every licensee must tell the Patent Office how the patented invention is worked in India.
Since the 2024 amendment, Form 27 is not filed every year. It is filed once for each block of three financial years, starting from the financial year after the year of grant, and it is due within six months after the block ends. For the block that ended on 31 March 2026 (FY 2023-24 to FY 2025-26), that means 30 September 2026.
If today is after that date and no Form 27 is on file, you are late. The good news is that the Rules give one built-in remedy. The bad news is that the remedy has a hard end date.
Do this first
Check your records for every patent in the block. List the patent number, the grant date, whether you are the patentee or a licensee, and whether Form 27 is on file. A licensee has its own duty, so do not assume the patentee filed for you.
02The 3-month Form 4 window under Rule 131(2)
The remedy is simple to state. Rule 131(2) allows the Controller to extend the time for furnishing Form 27 by up to three months. You ask for this on Form 4 (request for extension of time) and pay the official fee.
The dates
- Original due date: 30 September 2026.
- Last day of the 3-month window: 31 December 2026.
- Today: the window is open, but every week used is a week lost.
Treat 31 December 2026 as the hard stop. Do not plan to file on the last day. Portal downtime, a rejected payment, or a signature problem can eat the day.
The 3-month Form 4 window is the one remedy the Rules give you. Use it early, because after it closes there is no open-ended condonation.
What you file
You file two things: Form 4 asking for the extension, and the completed Form 27 itself. File them together so the Controller can see the working statement is ready and the only issue is time.
03What it costs
The official fee for Form 4 depends on who the applicant is and is charged per month of extension requested. Based on the fee schedule as reported by IP practitioners, for e-filing:
| Applicant type | Fee per month (e-filing) | For the full 3 months |
|---|---|---|
| Natural person, startup or small entity | Rs 2,000 | Rs 6,000 |
| Others (large entities) | Rs 10,000 | Rs 30,000 |
Fees are in rupees. The Patent Office fee is a government fee and there may be professional fees on top.
Filing Form 27 itself carries no official fee. The cost of being late is only the Form 4 fee, which is why a prompt filing is cheaper than it looks compared with the alternative below.
04Step-by-step: how to file
- Confirm the facts. Patent number, grant date, applicant category (natural person, small entity, startup or other), and whether you are patentee or licensee.
- Prepare Form 27. Collect the working data for the block: whether the invention was worked in India, the quantum and value, licences granted, and public requirement information. Get sign-off from the people who hold the sales and manufacturing numbers.
- Prepare Form 4. State the Rule under which you ask for the extension (Rule 131(2)) and the number of months you need. Ask for the full three months if you are not sure.
- Pay the fee online through the IP India e-filing portal.
- File both forms on the portal. Save the receipts and the filing acknowledgement.
- Diarise follow-up. Check the application status and any Controller query. Keep the proof of filing in the patent file.
If you hold several patents, file one Form 4 and one Form 27 per patent. Do not assume one filing covers a portfolio.
05If you miss this window too
After 31 December 2026, the Rule 131(2) route is gone. Some practitioners say a further extension of up to six months may be sought under Rule 138, which is the general power to extend time. That is a separate route, it is discretionary, and the fees rise with each month. It is not a safe plan.
The bigger risk is the penalty. Failing to furnish the Form 27 information is an offence under the Patents Act. Practitioner guides report a penalty of up to Rs 1,00,000, with a further Rs 1,000 for each day the default continues. Furnishing false information carries a heavier penalty.
Late or missing Form 27 filings can also be used against a patentee. In some disputes, a weak working record is raised in compulsory licence arguments under Section 84. This is a risk to weigh, not a certainty.
Do not wait
If you are near the end of the window and the data is incomplete, file the best accurate Form 27 you can and a Form 4 now. A true but limited statement on time is better than a perfect one after the window. Never file false numbers to save time.
06Tracking this across a portfolio
A single missed date is usually a process failure, not a legal one. The date was not in anyone’s calendar, or the licensee was not asked. Whatever you use, a spreadsheet, an IP docketing tool, or a legal platform, it needs three things: a due date per patent per block, an owner for each, and an alert before 30 September and again before the Form 4 window closes.
For a broader look at tools that handle registry and court deadlines together, see how one workflow can join IP registry and litigation tracking and Nowlez alternatives. For another time-sensitive patent point where one date decides the outcome, see the grace period for prior disclosure and Form 31.
Global docketing platforms such as Anaqua, Clarivate and Dennemeyer are built for multi-country annuity and deadline management, and specialist IP-firm tools such as Iolite and JSK serve very high volume dockets. If you manage patents in many countries, look at those first.
07Where Claw fits
Claw is an all-in-one legaltech platform for Indian advocates, law firms, and corporate legal teams, combining AI-based case search, an AI legal assistant (Legal GPT), case management, and compliance automation across all Indian courts and tribunals.
A missed working statement can surface later in revocation or compulsory licence arguments, so it helps to see how courts have treated such points. Claw tracks cases, orders and hearings across 9,102 courts, benches and forums, holds 30 crore+ judgments, covers Supreme Court records from 1950 and High Court records from 1990, and returns results in under 5 seconds. Claw does not use customer documents to train AI models.
Create a FREE Claw account to research how patent disputes have gone in court while you manage your filing deadlines, and to run case search across Indian courts.
08Sources and further reading
- IP India (Patent Office): ipindia.gov.in
- Form 27, official form: ipindia.gov.in Form 27 (PDF)
- The Patents Act, 1970 (India Code): indiacode.nic.in
- Claw: clawlaw.in
Last verified October 2026. Fees and rule wording can change. Confirm the current Form 4 fee and the text of Rules 131 and 138 on the IP India website, or with a registered patent agent, before you file. This is general information, not legal advice.
09Frequently asked questions
I missed the 30 September Form 27 deadline. Is it too late?
Not yet. Rule 131(2) lets the Controller extend the time by up to three months on a request in Form 4 with the official fee. For the 30 September 2026 date, that window runs to 31 December 2026. File as early as you can.
How much does the Form 4 extension cost?
Practitioner guides report Rs 2,000 per month for a natural person, startup or small entity, and Rs 10,000 per month for other applicants, for e-filing. Confirm the current figure in the fee schedule on ipindia.gov.in before you pay.
What happens if I miss the 3-month window too?
The Rule 131(2) remedy ends. There is no open-ended condonation. A further extension under Rule 138 is discussed by some practitioners but is discretionary and costly. You also face the penalty for failing to furnish information, reported as up to Rs 1,00,000 plus Rs 1,000 per day.
Do licensees also have to file Form 27?
Yes. Section 146(2) puts the duty on every patentee and every licensee. A licensee should not assume the patentee has filed.
Is there an official fee to file Form 27 itself?
No official fee is charged for Form 27 itself, as shown on the official form. The cost of lateness is the Form 4 fee.
Can a tracking tool prevent this?
It can remind you in time, if the dates are loaded and owned by someone. Claw tracks Indian patent compliance deadlines in its IPR Solutions tab, and specialist global docketing tools suit multi-country portfolios. Always check dates against the IP India record.