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CHAPTER VII REGISTRATION OF FIRMS

Section 69: Effect of non-registration

The Indian Partnership Act, 1932

(1) No suit to enforce a right arising from a contract or conferred by this Act shall be institutes in any Court by or on behalf of any person suing as a partner in a firm against the firm or any person alleged to be or to have been a partner in the firm unless the firm is registered and the person suing is or has been shown in the Register of Firms as a partner in the firm.

(2) No suit to enforce a tight arising from a contract shall be instituted in any Court by or on behalf of a firm against any third party unless the firm is registered and the persons suing are or have been shown in the Register of Firms as partners in the firm.

(3) The provisions of sub-sections (1) and (2) shall apply also to a claim of set-off or other proceeding to enforce a right arising from a contract, but shall not affect—

(a) the enforcement of any right to sue for the dissolution of a firm or for accounts of a dissolved firm, or a ay right or power to realise the property of a dissolved firm, or

(b) the powers of an official assignee, receiver or Court under the Presidency-towns Insolvency Act, 1909 (2 of 1909), or the Provincial Insolvency Act, 1920 (5 of 1920), to realise the property of an insolvent partner.

(4) This section shall not apply—

(a) to firms or to partners in firms which have no place of business in 1[the territories to which this Act extends], or whose places of business in 2[the said territories] are situated in areas to which, by notification under 3[section 56], this Chapter does not apply, or

(b) to any suit or claim of set-off not exceeding one hundred rupees in value which, in the Presidency-towns, is not of a kind specified in section 19 of the Presidency Small Cause Courts Act, 1882 (15 of 1882), or, outside the Presidency-towns, is not of a kind specified in the Second Schedule to the Provincial Small Cause Courts Act, 1887 (9 of 1887), or to any proceeding in execution or other proceeding incidental to or arising from any such suit or claim.

State Amendment (as printed in the official text)

Maharashtra

Substitution of section 69A of IX of 1932.--For section 69A of the principal Act, the following section shall be substituted, namely:--

"69A. Charges for delay in compliance of section 60, 61, 62 or 63.--If any statement, intimation or notice under section 60, 61, 62 or as the case may be, 63, in respect of any registered firm is not sent or given to the Registrar, within the period specified in that section, the Registrar may, make suitable amendments in the records relating to the firm, upon payment of charges for delay in sending or giving the same, at the rate of rupees two thousand per year or part thereof in respect of the period between the date of expiry of the period specified in that section and the date of making the payment.”.

[Vide Maharashtra Act 16 of 2018, s. 3]

Amendment of section 69 of Act IX of 1932.—In section 69 of the principal Act,—

(a) to sub-section (1), the following proviso shall be added, namely :—

“Provided that the requirement of registration of firm under this sub-section shall not apply to the suits or proceedings instituted by the heirs or legal representatives of the deceased partner of a firm for accounts of the firm or to realise the property of the firm.”;

(b) after sub-section (2), the following sub-section shall be inserted, namely :—

“(2A) No suit to enforce any right for the dissolution of a firm or for accounts of a dissolved firm or any right or power to realise the property of a dissolved firm shall be instituted in any Court by or on behalf of any person suing as a partner in a firm against the firm or any person alleged to be or to have been a partner in the firm, unless the firm is registered and the person suing is or has been shown in the Register of Firm as a partner in the firm :

Provided that the requirement of registration of firm under this sub-section shall not apply to the suits or proceedings instituted by the heirs or legal representatives of the deceased partner of a firm for accounts of a dissolved firm or to realise the property of a dissolved firm.”;

(c) in sub-section (3),—

(i) for the words, brackets and figures “sub-sections (1) and (2)” to words, brackets, figures and letter “sub-sections (1), (2) and (2A)” shall be substituted ;

(ii) for clause (a), the following clause shall be substituted, namely :—

“(a) the firms constituted for a duration upto six months or with a capital upto two thousand rupees ; or”

[Vide Maharashtra Act 29 of 1984, s. 13]

Insertion of section 69A in Act IX pf 1932.—After section 69 of the principal Act, the following section shall be inserted, namely :—

69A. Penalty for contravention of sections 60, 61, 62 or 63.—If any statement, intimation or notice under sections 60,61, 625 or 63 in respect of any registered firm is not sent or given to the Registrar, within the period specified in that section, the Registrar may, after giving notice to the partners of the firm and after giving them a reasonable opportunity of being heard, refuse to make the suitable amendments in the records relating to the firm, until the partners of the firm pay such penalty, not exceeding ten rupees per day, as the Registrar may determine in respect of the period between the date of expiry of the period specified 60, 61, 62, or as the case may be, 63 and the date of making the amendments in the entries relating to the firm.”.

Footnotes in the official text

  1. 1.Subs. by Act 3 of 1951, s. 3 and the Schedule, for “Part A States and Part C States”.
  2. 2.Subs. by s. 3 and the Schedule, ibid.,for “such States”.
  3. 3.Subs. by Act 24 of 1934, s. 2 and the First Schedule, for “section 55”.

Questions on this section

2 questions in 6 of our papers cite Section 69. Try these from the free papers:

  1. 1. In Loon Karan Sethia v. Ivan E. John (1976), the Supreme Court held, regarding Section 69 of the Indian Partnership Act, 1932, that:

Practise questions on Partnership and Sale of Goods Acts