# Form 27 in India: the patent working statement and its new three-year deadlines

URL: https://zernyxhub.com/blog/form-27-working-statement
Author: Sahil Sheikh, Regd. Patent & Trademark Agent, cRTTP
Published: 2026-10-17
Category: Patents

> Form 27 is now filed once every three financial years. Who must file the patent working statement, the 2026 deadlines, extensions and penalties, explained.

**Short answer:** Form 27 is the statement every patentee and licensee in India must file on whether a granted patent was worked commercially in India. Since the Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2024 it is filed once for every block of three financial years, within six months of the block ending. For most patents granted before April 2023, the first window closed on 30 September 2026, but it can still be filed with a Form 4 extension up to 31 December 2026, and then up to 30 June 2027.

Getting a patent granted feels like the finish line. In India it is not. Once the patent is granted, the law expects you to tell the Patent Office, at regular intervals, whether you are actually using the invention in India. That statement is Form 27, and 2026 is the year many patent holders file it under the new rules for the first time.

If you hold a patent granted on or before 31 March 2023, your first three-year window under the new rules closed on 30 September 2026. If you missed it, you still have time, but the clock is running.

## What Form 27 is and why it exists

Form 27 is the "statement regarding the working of the patented invention on a commercial scale in India". It comes from Section 146(2) of the Patents Act, 1970 and Rule 131 of the Patents Rules, 2003.

The idea behind it is simple. A patent is a monopoly granted by the state. In return, the state wants to know whether the invention is being made available in India. That information feeds into other parts of the Act, most importantly compulsory licensing under Section 84. Any interested person can apply for a compulsory licence after three years from the date of grant, and one of the grounds is that the patented invention is not worked in the territory of India. India's first compulsory licence, granted to Natco for Bayer's cancer drug sorafenib in 2012, turned in part on working.

Separately, under Section 146(1), the Controller can ask a patentee or licensee by written notice to furnish information about commercial working at any time. Form 27 is the routine version of that request.

## What changed in 2024

The Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2024 came into force on 15 March 2024 and changed Form 27 in three ways.

- **Frequency.** It used to be filed every financial year. Now it is filed once for each period of three financial years, counted from the financial year after the year of grant.
- **Deadline.** It is due within six months from the end of each three-year period. In practice, that means 30 September after the block ends.
- **Content.** The old form asked for the revenue or value accrued from the patented invention, split between manufacture in India and imports. The new form drops the revenue figures. You state whether each patent was worked or not, give reasons if it was not, and say whether the patent is available for licensing.

The 2024 change made the form far lighter. It did not make it optional.

**Form 27 before and after the 2024 Rules**
Until March 2024:
- Filed every financial year
- Reported revenue from manufacture in India and imports
From 15 March 2024:
- Filed once for each block of three financial years
- Due within six months after the block ends
- No revenue figures: worked or not, reasons, and availability for licensing
Lighter to file, but still mandatory for every patentee and every licensee.

## Who must file

According to the Patent Office's own FAQ on Form 27 (August 2024):

- Every **patentee** must file.
- Every **licensee** in India must file too, whether exclusive or non-exclusive. The patentee's filing does not cover the licensee.
- A registered patent agent can file on behalf of either.
- One Form 27 can cover several patents only if they are **related** and granted to the **same patentee(s)**. Otherwise, file one per patent.

This catches out universities and research labs more often than companies. A TTO that has licensed a patent to a startup often assumes the startup will handle compliance, and the startup assumes the university will. Both have to file. If you are setting up a licence now, put the Form 27 duty, and who supplies whom with what information, into the agreement. Our piece on [exclusive and non-exclusive licences](https://zernyxhub.com/blog/exclusive-licence) covers the other clauses worth getting right at that stage.

## Your deadline, by grant year

These dates come from the Patent Office FAQ. Financial years run April to March.

**The 2026 cycle for patents granted up to 31 March 2023**
- Apr 2023 to Mar 2026, Three-year working period: FY 2023-24 to 2025-26
- 1 Apr 2026, Filing window opens: No official fee within the window
- 30 Sep 2026, Normal deadline
- 31 Dec 2026, Last date with a Form 4 extension: Rule 131(2), up to three months
- 30 Jun 2027, Final limit under Rule 138: No condonation after this
Skipping the first extension brings the final limit forward to 31 March 2027.

| Patent granted in | Three-year block | Filing window | With 3-month extension (Rule 131(2)) | Further extension (Rule 138) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FY 2022-23 or earlier | FY 2023-24 to 2025-26 | 1 Apr 2026 to 30 Sep 2026 | 31 Dec 2026 | 30 Jun 2027 |
| FY 2023-24 | FY 2024-25 to 2026-27 | 1 Apr 2027 to 30 Sep 2027 | 31 Dec 2027 | 30 Jun 2028 |
| FY 2024-25 | FY 2025-26 to 2027-28 | 1 Apr 2028 to 30 Sep 2028 | 31 Dec 2028 | 30 Jun 2029 |

A few points the table does not show:

- If you skip the three-month extension and go straight to Rule 138, the outer limit is three months earlier. For the 2026 window, that is 31 March 2027, not 30 June 2027.
- One Form 27 covers the whole three-year block. You do not file one per year.
- Missed periods under the old annual regime (FY 2021-22 and FY 2022-23) cannot be added to the new block. The FAQ also says that where a deadline had already expired before 15 March 2024, a late filing is not possible.
- Patents that expire partway through a block have shorter, specific windows. Check the FAQ if yours expires soon.

## What the form asks for

The current form is short. In order, it asks for:

1. The patentee or licensee, and the patent number or numbers.
2. The three-year period the statement covers.
3. For each patent, whether it was **worked** or **not worked** in India.
4. If not worked, the reasons. The form offers options such as the invention being under development or commercial trial, under regulatory review, or being explored for licensing, plus an "other" box.
5. Whether the patent is **available for licensing**, with optional contact details.
6. A signed declaration that the facts are true to the best of your knowledge and belief.

Two answers deserve care.

**Worked or not worked.** The Act does not give a neat definition of "worked", and practitioners disagree at the edges, for example on whether imports alone count. Answer honestly for your situation and keep a short internal note of why you answered the way you did. If the patent is licensed, compare notes with your licensee so the two filings do not contradict each other.

**Available for licensing.** This is new, and it is free visibility. If you have a granted patent you are not using, ticking yes tells the market it is open for a deal. If you want buyers to actually find it, list it where industry looks for technology too. [Zernyx Hub](https://www.zernyxhub.com/) lets universities, labs and inventors list patented technologies for licensing. Before you talk numbers, read [how much royalty is fair](https://zernyxhub.com/blog/royalty-rates).

## How to file, step by step

1. **Make a list.** Pull every granted patent you own or hold a licence under, with its grant date. Work out which block and window applies to each.
2. **Group them.** Related patents of the same patentee can go in one form. Unrelated ones need separate forms.
3. **Collect facts from the business.** For each patent: is it in a product or process used in India? If not, why not? Is it open for licensing?
4. **Check your licences.** List every licensee and confirm each one knows it must file separately.
5. **File online** through the IP India e-filing portal, signed digitally by the patentee, licensee or their agent.
6. **Save the acknowledgement** with the patent's records, and diarise the next window three years later.

There is no official fee for filing Form 27 within the window.

## Missed 30 September 2026? Do this now

If your patent was granted on or before 31 March 2023 and you have not filed, you are now in the extension period.

- **Until 31 December 2026:** file Form 27 together with a Form 4 request for extension under Rule 131(2), for up to three months.
- **After that, until 30 June 2027:** a further extension of up to six months is possible on Form 4 under Rule 138.

Extensions are not free and are charged per month. Published guidance puts the Rule 138 fee at ₹10,000 per month for natural persons, startups, small entities and educational institutions, and ₹50,000 per month for others. The Rule 131(2) extension costs less. Fees are revised from time to time, so check the current First Schedule on ipindia.gov.in before you pay.

What you cannot do is ask for the delay to be condoned once these limits pass. The FAQ is explicit that condonation is not available for Form 27. File as early in the extension period as you can.

## Penalties for not filing

Non-filing is no longer a criminal matter, but it still costs money. After the Jan Vishwas (Amendment of Provisions) Act, 2023, effective for patents from 1 August 2024, Section 122 provides:

- For refusing or failing to furnish information, a penalty of up to **₹1 lakh**, and if the default continues, up to **₹1,000 per day**.
- For furnishing information you know or believe to be false, a penalty of up to **0.5% of total sales, turnover or gross receipts, or ₹5 crore, whichever is less**.

Penalties are imposed by an adjudicating officer appointed under Section 124A, with an appeal available under Section 124B.

The money is only part of the risk. A missing or careless working record is the kind of thing that comes up in compulsory licence proceedings, licensing due diligence and investor reviews.

## Common mistakes

- **Assuming the patent agent will file it automatically.** Many agents only handle prosecution. Confirm in writing who is responsible after grant.
- **Forgetting licensees.** Each licensee has its own duty to file.
- **Filing per year out of habit.** One form covers the full block.
- **Bundling unrelated patents.** Only related patents of the same patentee go together.
- **Letting it slip in a growing portfolio.** Ten patents granted in different years means staggered windows. Track grant dates, renewals and Form 27 windows in one place. If spreadsheets are failing you, an IP management system such as Zernyx IPMS can hold these dates per patent. Renewal fees are a separate deadline again; our breakdown of [what a patent costs in India](https://zernyxhub.com/blog/patent-cost-india) covers them.

## FAQ

### Is Form 27 still filed every year?

No. Since the Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2024 it is filed once for each block of three financial years, within six months after the block ends.

### Do I need to report revenue from my patent?

Not any more. The revised form removed the revenue and value fields. You state whether the patent was worked, give reasons if not, and say whether it is available for licensing.

### My patent was granted in 2025. When is my first Form 27 due?

For a patent granted in FY 2024-25 (April 2024 to March 2025), the block is FY 2025-26 to 2027-28 and the window is 1 April to 30 September 2028. For a grant in FY 2025-26 (April 2025 to March 2026), the block starts the following financial year and runs FY 2026-27 to 2028-29, so the window is 1 April to 30 September 2029.

### Can one Form 27 cover all my patents?

Only patents that are related and granted to the same patentee. Unrelated patents need separate forms.

### Is there a fee to file Form 27?

There is no official fee for filing within the normal window. Extensions requested on Form 4 carry a per-month fee.

*This guide reflects the Patents Act, the Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2024 and the Patent Office's Form 27 FAQ as of October 2026. It is general information, not legal advice for your specific patents.*

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