RTI-2005 Payment of fee under the Right to information Act-CLARIFICATION

Payment of fee under the Right to lnformation Act. 2005 

- scope of sub-section (3) of Section 7 of the Act.

 

26 May 2010

 N0.12/9/2009-IR 

Government of India
Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions
(Department of Personnel and Training)
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North  Block, New Delhi 
Dated the 24^th May, 2010

OFFICE-MEMORANDUM

Subject: Payment of fee under the Right to information Act. 2005 - scope of sub-section (3) of 

Section 7 of the Act.

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1. The Undersigned is directed to say that a question is raised from time to time  whether a Public lnformation Officer (PIO) has power to charge fee under  Section 7(3) of the RTI Act, 2005 in addition to fee prescribed under  Sections 6(1), 7(1) and 7(5) of the Act. 

2.Section 6(1) of the Act  enables the Government to prescribe application fee and sub-sections (1) and (5) of Section 7 to prescribe fee in addition to application fee for supply  of information. On the other hand sub-section (3) of Section 7 provides the  procedure which a PI0 has to follow for realizing the fee prescribed under  sub-sections (1) and (5) of the Section. Details of fees that can be charged  by a public authority under the Central Government are contained in the  Right to information (Regulation of Fee & Cost) Rules, 2005. The Rules or  the Act do not give power to the PI0 to charge any fee other than prescribed  in the Fee and Cost Rules. Attention in this regard is invited to following  extracts from the common order passed by the Central Information Commission  in Appeal No. CI/MA/A/2008/0185 (Shri K.K. Kishore Vs. Institute of Company  Secretaries of lndia) and Complaint No.CIC/WB/C/2007/00943 (Shri Subodh Jain  Vs. Dy. Commissioner of Police) :

   

"The Act under proviso to  sub-section (5) of Section 7 also provides that fee prescribed under 
sub-sections (1) and (5) of Section 7 shall be reasonable and no such fee  shall be charged from the persons who are below poverty line as may be  determined by the Appropriate Government. The Government has already  prescribed fees as deemed reasonable mandated under Sections 7(1) and 7(5)  of the Act and in the view of the Commission, there is no provision for any  further fee apart from the one already prescribed under Sections 7(1) and   7(5) of the Act".   

"Thus, there is provision for  charging of fee only under Section 6(1) which is the application fee;  Section 7(1) which is the fee charged for photocopying etc. and Section 7  (5) which is for getting information in printed or electronic format. But  there is no provision for any further fee and if any further fee is being charged by the Public Authorities in addition to what is already prescribed  under Section 6(1), 7(1) and 7(5) of the Act, the same would be in  contravention of the Right to Information Act. The "further fee" mentioned  in Section 7(3) only refers to the procedure in availing of the further fee  already prescribed under 7(5) of the RTI Act, which is "further" in terms of  the basic fee of Rs.10/-. Section 7(3), therefore, provides for procedure  for realizing the fees so prescribed".

   

3. The Commission, while  delivering decision in above cases, recommended to this Department to make  rules, for charging fee towards supply of information which may include fee  for supply of books, maps, plans, documents, samples, models etc. that are  priced and towards postal/courier charges for mailing information, when  postal/courier charges are in excess of minimum slab prescribed by the  Department of Posts and for other similar situations.

   

4. The Right to Information  (Regulation of Fee & Cost) Rules, 2005 already provide provisions for charging of fee for giving information in diskettes or floppies or in the  form of photo copy; for providing samples, models, printed material like  books, maps, plans etc; and for inspection of records. The Government have,  however, not considered it desirable to charge fee towards expenditure  involved in mailing information or overhead expenditure etc. Nevertheless,  supply of information in a form which would disproportionately divert the  resources of the public authority is taken care of by Section 7(9) of the 
Act according to which information shall ordinarily be provided in the form  in which it is sought but supply of information in a particular form may be  refused if supply of information in that form would divert the resources of  the public authority disproportionately.

   

5. It is hereby clarified that  where a Public Information Officer takes a decision to provide information on payment of fee in addition to the application fee, he should determine  the quantum of such fee in accordance with the fee prescribed under the Fee  and Cost Rules referred to above and give the details of such fee to the  applicant together with the calculation made to arrive at such fee. Since  the Act or the Rules do not provide for charging of fee towards postal  expenses or cost involved in deployment of man power for supply of  information etc., he should not ask the applicant to pay fee on such  account. However, wherever supply of information in a particular form would  disproportionately divert the resources of the publicauthority or would be  detrimental to the safety or preservation of the records, the PIO may refuse  to supply the information in that form.

   

6. Contents of this OM may be  brought to the notice of all concerned.

(K.G. Verma) 
Director