Intellectual Property Rights - Law and Practice · Geographical Indications

Registrar of Geographical Indications and the GI Registry

Updated 11 October 2026 · Fact-checked

The Registrar of Geographical Indications is the Controller-General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks. The Registry is the office that handles GI applications. It keeps the Register of Geographical Indications, divided into Part A (the GIs) and Part B (the authorised users). To answer questions, link each rule to its section.

Understand Registrar and Geographical Indications Registry

A GI right needs an official body to receive applications, decide them and keep a public record. The Geographical Indications of Goods (Registration and Protection) Act, 1999 sets up three things for this: the Registrar, the Geographical Indications Registry and the Register.

The Registrar is not a separate post. Under section 3(1), the Controller-General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks appointed under the Trade Marks Act, 1999 is the Registrar of Geographical Indications. The Central Government may appoint other officers, with designations it thinks fit. They discharge those functions of the Registrar that he authorises them to discharge, under his superintendence and direction. Section 2(3)(d) says a reference to the Registrar includes such an officer.

The Registry is set up under section 5. Its head office is at a place the Central Government specifies by notification in the Official Gazette. The Government may also set up branch offices and define the territorial limits within which an office works. The Registry has its own seal. Your notes may say the head office is at Chennai. That comes from the Gazette notification, not from the text of the Act, so say 'as notified' unless the question names the place.

The Register is the record under section 6. It is kept at the head office. It holds all registered GIs, with the names, addresses and descriptions of the proprietors and of the authorised users, plus other prescribed matters. Under section 7 it has two parts. Part A holds the particulars of registered geographical indications. Part B holds the particulars of registered authorised users.

Key rules to remember

Who is the Registrar: Registrar of GIs = Controller-General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks (Trade Marks Act, 1999, s 3(1)); Section 3(1). Other officers may be appointed and act under the Registrar's superintendence and direction (s 3(2)).
Registry and offices: One Registry; head office and branch offices by Central Government notification; Registry has a seal; Section 5. The Central Government can also define the territorial limits of each office.
Register and its parts: Register (s 6) = Part A (GI particulars) + Part B (authorised user particulars) (s 7); Kept at the head office. A copy of the register is kept at each branch office (s 6(6)).
Form of the Register: May be kept wholly or partly on computer or in other electronic form, with prescribed safeguards; Section 6(1)-(3). An entry then means the entry as held in electronic form.
No notice of trust: No notice of any trust, express, implied or constructive, is entered or received; Section 6(4).
Control of the Register: Register is under the Registrar's control and management, subject to the Central Government's superintendence and direction; Section 6(5).
Powers of Registrar in proceedings: Civil court powers + orders as to costs + review of own decision; Section 60: receive evidence, administer oaths, enforce attendance, compel discovery and production, issue commissions. Costs orders are executable as a civil court decree. Review is on application in the prescribed manner.
Evidence: Certified, sealed copy of an entry = admissible without further proof; Registrar's certificate = prima facie evidence; Section 69. Under section 70 the Registrar and officers are not compellable to produce the register or to appear as witness unless the court orders for special cause.

How to solve Registrar and Geographical Indications Registry questions

Questions on this topic are usually short-answer or case-based. Identify which of the three bodies (Registrar, Registry, Register) is in question, then apply the section.

1Read the facts and mark which body or power is in question: the Registrar, the Registry offices, the Register, or evidence from the Register.
2State the provision in plain words with its section number, for example section 3, 5, 6, 7, 60, 69 or 70.
3Apply the exact conditions to the facts. For example, is the person a registered proprietor (goes in Part A) or an authorised user (goes in Part B)?
4Check whether the matter is a Registrar proceeding (section 60 powers apply) or a court proceeding (sections 35, 69 and 70 apply).
5Check the limits: no trust notices, correction only of clerical errors or obvious mistakes (section 16(4)), and the Registrar acts under the Central Government's superintendence over the register.
6Conclude in one clear sentence and add a practical point, such as obtaining a certified copy of the entry for use in court.

Quickest way: Three-body check

When to use it: Use it when time is short and the question asks who does what, or where something is recorded.

Write R-R-R: Registrar, Registry, Register.
Registrar: Controller-General, s 3. Registry: head and branch offices, seal, s 5. Register: s 6, Part A and Part B, s 7.
Add one line on powers (s 60) or evidence (ss 69-70) if the question touches proceedings or proof.
Close with the conclusion and the section number.

Common mistakes in Registrar and Geographical Indications Registry

Saying the Registrar is a separate officer appointed only for GIs.
Students assume each IP statute has its own head officer.
Fix: Remember section 3(1): the Controller-General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks under the Trade Marks Act, 1999 is the Registrar.
Putting authorised users in Part A of the Register.
Both are 'registered', so students mix up the parts.
Fix: Part A is for registered geographical indications. Part B is for registered authorised users (section 7).
Stating that the Act itself fixes the head office at Chennai.
Coaching notes mention Chennai as a fact without the source.
Fix: Section 5(2) leaves the location to Central Government notification. Say the head office is as notified, and mention Chennai only as the notified location if asked.
Listing section 60 powers as only those of a civil court for evidence.
Students remember the first limb and forget the others.
Fix: Add costs orders, executable as a civil court decree, and the power to review his own decision on application.
Thinking the Registrar must always appear in court when the register is involved.
Confusing the right to appear (section 35) with a duty to attend as witness (section 70).
Fix: Section 35 gives a right to appear and be heard, and the Registrar may submit a written statement instead unless the High Court directs otherwise. Section 70 says he is not compellable as a witness unless the court orders for special cause.
Saying the Registrar can change the register freely.
Students overlook the narrow wording of section 16(4).
Fix: Under section 16(4) the Registrar may amend the register or certificate to correct a clerical error or an obvious mistake.

Worked examples

Example 1

Darjeeling Hills Growers' Association is registered as proprietor of a GI for its tea. Two of its members are registered as authorised users. A buyer asks where each is recorded and how the Association can prove the entry in court. Advise.

Show the solution

Provision: section 6 keeps the Register at the head office. Section 7 divides it into Part A and Part B.
Application: the GI and the particulars of the Association as proprietor go in Part A. The two members, as authorised users, are entered in Part B.
Proof: under section 69(1), a copy of an entry certified by the Registrar and sealed with the Registry's seal is admitted in evidence in all courts without further proof or production of the original.
Practical point: under section 69(2), a certificate under the Registrar's hand is prima facie evidence of the entry and its contents.
Conclusion: apply for a certified, sealed copy of the entries and file it in court.

Answer: The GI (with the proprietor) is in Part A; the two authorised users are in Part B. The Association proves the entries with a certified and sealed copy of the entry, which is admissible without further proof under section 69.

Example 2

In a proceeding before the Registrar, a party refuses to produce a document and a witness refuses to attend. The Registrar makes an order for costs against the party and later a party asks him to reconsider his decision. Can the Registrar act?

Show the solution

Provision: section 60 applies to all proceedings under the Act before the Registrar.
Document and witness: under section 60(a) he has the powers of a civil court to enforce the attendance of witnesses and compel the discovery and production of documents.
Costs: under section 60(b), he may make an order as to costs he considers reasonable, subject to rules under section 87. It is executable as a decree of a civil court.
Review: under section 60(c), he may review his own decision on an application made in the prescribed manner.
Conclusion: the Registrar can act on all three points, provided the review application is in the prescribed manner.

Answer: Yes. Section 60 gives the Registrar civil court powers over witnesses and documents, power to award costs executable as a decree, and power to review his own decision on application in the prescribed manner.

Exam tips

Learn sections 3, 5, 6, 7, 60, 69 and 70 with one-line summaries; case questions usually turn on one of them.
Always name Part A as the GIs and Part B as the authorised users, and use these exact words.
For a 'powers of Registrar' question, give all three limbs of section 60: civil court powers, costs, review.
Do not quote Chennai as a statutory fact; refer to the Central Government's notification under section 5.
Link the Registrar and register to the registration procedure by mentioning that registration is done by the Registrar under section 16 and a sealed certificate is issued.

Practice questions from Geographical Indications

Registrar and Geographical Indications Registry in other exams

The same ground in other exams, if you are preparing for more than one or want another angle on it.

CS ExecutiveIntroduction to Geographical Indications and TRIPS

Registrar and Geographical Indications Registry: frequently asked questions

Who is the Registrar of Geographical Indications?

Under section 3(1) of the GI Act, 1999, the Controller-General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks appointed under the Trade Marks Act, 1999 is the Registrar. The Central Government may appoint other officers to discharge the Registrar's functions that he authorises.

What are Part A and Part B of the Register of Geographical Indications?

The Register is divided into two parts under section 7. Part A holds the particulars of registered geographical indications. Part B holds the particulars of registered authorised users.

Where is the GI Registry located?

Section 5 says the head office is at a place the Central Government specifies by notification in the Official Gazette, and branch offices may be set up. The Register is kept at the head office, and a copy is kept at each branch office. Many study notes give Chennai as the notified location.

Can the Register be kept electronically?

Yes. Under section 6(2) and (3) the Registrar may keep it wholly or partly in electronic form, subject to prescribed safeguards. A reference to an entry then means the entry as kept in that form.