The Punjab government has implemented a substantial increase in court fees and stamp duties throughout the province.
According to the Punjab Finance Act 2024, fees for various court-related services have surged dramatically, rising by 500% to 1000%.
For instance, the cost of court tickets for civil and criminal petitions has skyrocketed from Rs2 to Rs500. Similarly, transferring cases now costs Rs500 instead of Rs5, while requesting court records has jumped from Rs2 to Rs500. The fees for filing a memorandum of appeal, claim, or supervision have also increased significantly, from Rs15 to Rs500.
Additionally, civil and criminal lawyers who previously paid Rs2 per ticket will now face a fee of Rs100, with other ticket prices previously ranging from Rs5 to Rs15 now set at Rs500.
In cases where the claimant’s amount is undetermined, ticket prices have similarly surged from Rs2 to Rs500, imposing a charge of Rs1000 for a ticket and significantly impacting clients’ ability to file claims under consumer laws.
The cost of tickets for requests related to rent determination or eviction has risen from Rs2 to Rs15, now set at Rs500. Stamp papers for affidavits have increased from Rs100 to Rs300, while the cost for sale agreements has been standardized at Rs3000, up from a previous range of Rs1200 to Rs3000.
Other stamp papers for declarations have increased to Rs500 from a former range of Rs100 to Rs200, and stamp duty for divorce papers has risen to Rs1000 from Rs100.
Additionally, the price for certified copies of court documents has skyrocketed from Rs2 to Rs100 per page, while fees for claims under Rs50 have surged from Rs2 to Rs100, and those over Rs50 have jumped from Rs5 to Rs500. The cost of returning original documents has increased from Rs2 to Rs100, and obtaining certified copies of court records now costs Rs100 per page, up from Rs2.
