THE PRESS AND REGISTRATION OF PERIODICALS ACT, 2023
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ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
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CHAPTER I
PRELIMINARY
SECTIONS
1. Short title, extent and commencement.
2. Definitions.
CHAPTER II
PRINTING PRESS AND PERIODICAL
3. Printer to furnish intimation.
4. Publication of periodical.
CHAPTER III
AUTHORITIES
5. Press Registrar General and other officers.
6. Powers of Press Registrar General.
CHAPTER IV
REGISTRATION OF PERIODICAL
7. Registration of periodical.
8. Revision of certificate of registration or title.
9. Transfer of ownership of a periodical.
10. Discontinuation of a periodical.
11. Suspension or cancellation of registration.
12. Annual statement to be furnished by periodical.
13. Annual report.
CHAPTER V
PENALTIES
14. Power of Press Registrar General to impose penalty.
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CHAPTER VI
APPEAL
SECTIONS
15. Press and Registration Appellate Board.
CHAPTER VII
MISCELLANEOUS
16. Power of Central Government to issue directions.
17. Press Registrar General and other officers to be public servants.
18. Protection of action taken in good faith.
19. Power of Central Government to make rule.
20. Power to remove difficulties.
21. Laying of rules and notification.
22. Repeal and savings.
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THE PRESS AND REGISTRATION OF PERIODICALS ACT, 2023
ACT NO. 51 OF 2023
[28th December, 2023.]
An Act to provide for press, registration of periodicals and for matters connected therewith or
incidental thereto.
BE it enacted by Parliament in the Seventy-fourth Year of the Republic of India as follows:—
CHAPTER I
PRELIMINARY
1. Short title, Extent and commencement.—(1) This Act may be called the Press and Registration of
Periodicals Act, 2023.
(2) It extends to the whole of India.
(3) It shall come into force on such date1 as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official
Gazette, appoint.
2. Definitions.—In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,—
(a) “facsimile edition” of a publication means an exact reproduction of the original edition of a
foreign publication in English or an Indian language included in the Eighth Schedule to the
Constitution;
(b) “journal” means a periodical publication, other than a magazine, which primarily carries
academic, scientific or technical content related to a particular discipline or profession;
(c) “keeper” means a person who manages the day-to-day operations of a printing press, the owner
of which is a non-individual entity;
(d) “newspaper” means a periodical of loose-folded sheets usually printed on newsprint and brought
out daily or at least once in a week, containing information on current events, public news or comments
on public news;
(e) “notification” means a notification published in the Gazette of India or the Official Gazette of
a State, as the case may be, and the expression “notify” with its grammatical variation and cognate
expressions shall be construed accordingly;
(f) “owner” means an individual, firm or any such legal entity owning a periodical;
(g) “periodical” means any publication, including a newspaper, which is published and printed at
regular intervals containing public news or comments on public news, but does not include a book, or
a journal including a book or journal of scientific, technical and academic nature;
(h) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act;
(i) “Press Registrar General” means the Press Registrar General of India, appointed by the Central
Government under sub-section (1) of section 5;
(j) “printer” means the owner or keeper of a printing press;
(k) “printing” means reproduction of a periodical through any technology involving mass
production of copies, but does not include photocopying;
1. 1st March, 2024, vide notification No. S.O. 989(E), dated, 1st day of March, 2024, see Gazette of India, Extraordinary,
Part II, sec. 3(ii)
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(l) “publication” means newspapers, magazines, journals or newsletters printed periodically and
published in India, and shall include its reproduction in electronic form or any syndication, facsimile
edition, for public distribution or access;
(m) “publish” means the process of making a work available to the public by issuing or causing to
be issued the copies thereof or in any other manner, whether for a price or free of charge, and the word
“publishing” shall be construed accordingly;
(n) “publisher” means a person responsible to publish any periodical;
(o) “register” means the register of periodicals maintained under clause (b) of sub-section (3) of
section 5;
(p) “specified authority” means a District Magistrate or Collector or such other officer as the State
Government or, as the case may be, Union territory Administration may, by notification, specify;
(q) “title”, in relation to a periodical, means the name of such periodical as may be verified by the
Press Registrar General, printed prominently and legibly as the masthead on the front page of that
periodical by which it shall be known or be identified.
CHAPTER II
PRINTING PRESS AND PERIODICAL
3. Printer to furnish intimation.—Every printer of a periodical shall furnish an intimation in the
online portal to the Press Registrar General and the specified authority within whose local jurisdiction his
printing press is situated with such particulars and in such manner, as may be prescribed.
4. Publication of periodical (1) Every citizen of India or a person, being an entity incorporated and
registered in India under any law for the time being in force, may bring out a periodical:
Provided that no person who has been convicted by any court for an offence—
(a) involving terrorist act or unlawful activity; or
(b) for having done anything against the security of the State,
shall bring out a periodical.
Explanation.—For the purposes of this section, the expressions “terrorist act” and “unlawful activity”
shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in clauses (k) and (o) of sub-section (1) of section 2
of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (37 of 1967).
(2) Every periodical printed in India shall have printed on it legibly the name of the printer, place of
printing, name of editor, publisher and place of publication.
Explanation.––For the purposes of this sub-section, “editor” means a person who decides the matter
that is to be published in a periodical.
(3) A facsimile edition of a foreign periodical may be printed in India only with the previous approval
of the Central Government in accordance with the guidelines made in this regard, and the registration of
such facsimile edition shall be made with the Press Registrar General in such manner as may be prescribed.
Explanation.––For the purposes of this sub-section, “foreign periodical” means any periodical printed
and published in a country outside India.
CHAPTER III
AUTHORITIES
5. Press Registrar General and other officers.—(1) The Central Government may, by order, appoint
a Press Registrar General of India for carrying out the purposes of this Act.
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(2) The Central Government may, by general or special order, appoint such other officers under the
general superintendence and control of the Press Registrar General, as may be necessary, for the purpose
of performing the functions assigned to the Press Registrar General by or under this Act and may, by such
order provide for the distribution or allocation of functions to be performed by them under this Act.
(3) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing provisions, the Press Registrar
General shall perform the following functions, namely:—
(a) issue a certificate of registration to a periodical;
(b) maintain a register of registered periodicals;
(c) make guidelines for admissibility and availability of title of a periodical;
(d) collect fees, as may be applicable, with regard to applications received by him under this Act;
(e) receive funds from the Central Government and disburse the same for implementation of the
provisions of this Act;
(f) prepare and publish an annual report containing information in respect of the periodicals in
India;
(g) any function incidental to, or connected with, clauses (a) to (f); and
(h) any other function as may be assigned to it by the Central Government for the effective
implementation of the provisions of this Act.
6. Powers of Press Registrar General.—The Press Registrar General shall—
(a) obtain annual statements of a periodical;
(b) verify the circulation figure of such class of periodicals in such manner and for such purpose,
as may be prescribed, and shall have access to any relevant record or document relating to a periodical
in the possession of the owner of such periodical or printer thereof, and enter any premises where the
business of such periodical is carried on at any reasonable time to inspect or take copies of the relevant
records or documents or ask any question necessary for obtaining any information required to be
furnished;
(c) revise, suspend or cancel registration of a periodical;
(d) requisition the services of an authorised person and such other person as may be specified by
him for undertaking verification of circulation figure of a periodical.
Explanation.––For the removal of doubts, it is clarified that an “authorised person” means a
Gazetted Officer of the Central Government, subordinate to the Press Registrar General, and authorised
by the Press Registrar General in writing to function as his representative for discharging such functions
as he may assign to such representative;
(e) call for records, documents and such other information in respect of a printing press or a
periodical as may be required in discharge of his duties;
(f) call for information from a State Government or Union territory Administration or a specified
authority regarding a periodical; and
(g) impose penalty.
CHAPTER IV
REGISTRATION OF PERIODICAL
7. Registration of periodical.—(1) A periodical shall be printed or published in India only in
accordance with the provisions of this Act.
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(2) Every publisher of a periodical shall, with the authorisation of the owner of such periodical, obtain
a certificate of registration from the Press Registrar General by making an online application to the Press
Registrar General and the specified authority within whose local jurisdiction such periodical is proposed to
be published, in such manner and on payment of such fee, with such documents and particulars, as may be
prescribed.
(3) The application referred to in sub-section (2) shall contain the title, which the publisher intends to
assign to the periodical, and for that purpose the publisher may suggest one or more names for the title, in
an order of preference, which is not the same or similar to a title already held by any other owner of a
periodical either in the same language anywhere in India or in any other language in the same State, and
which conforms to the guidelines made by the Press Registrar General for this purpose.
(4) The specified authority referred to in sub-section (2) shall, either furnish its no-objection or
comments on the application to the Press Registrar General within a period of sixty days:
Provided that no-objection of the specified authority shall not be required, where the application
referred to in sub-section (2) is for registration of a periodical proposed to be published by the Central
Government or a State Government or any authority under such Government.
(5) On receipt of an application referred to in sub-section (2), if the Press Registrar General is satisfied
with its correctness and completeness and after taking into account the comments, if any, received from the
specified authority within the period referred to in sub-section (4) and the guidelines relating to
admissibility of titles, he shall issue a certificate of registration containing particulars of its periodicity,
language, place of publication, details of the owner and the title of the periodical, in such form as may be
prescribed:
Provided that the Press Registrar General may, after giving an opportunity of being heard and for
reasons to be recorded in writing, refuse to issue the certificate of registration.
(6) The publisher of the periodical shall, on receipt of the certificate of registration, commence
publication of the periodical:
Provided that if the publisher of the periodical fails to publish the periodical within twelve months from
the end of the month in which the certificate of registration was issued, the Press Registrar General may
cancel the certificate of registration and withdraw the title.
8. Revision of certificate of registration or title.—(1) A publisher of a periodical may make an
application to the Press Registrar General for revision of particulars of the certificate of registration, or for
revision of title, in such manner and with such particulars as may be prescribed.
(2) The Press Registrar General may, on being satisfied with the particulars of the revision applied for
under sub-section (1), issue a revised certificate of registration or a revised title, to the publisher and
intimate the same to the specified authority.
9. Transfer of ownership of a periodical.—(1) The transfer of ownership of every periodical
registered under section 7 shall be made in accordance with the provisions of this section.
(2) The owner of a periodical referred to in sub-section (1) shall apply for transfer of its ownership to
the Press Registrar General by furnishing such documents, setting forth such particulars and on payment of
such fee, as may be prescribed.
(3) On receipt of an application from the owner of a periodical for transfer of ownership of such
periodical, if the Press Registrar General is satisfied with its correctness and completeness, and after taking
into account the comments, if any, received from the specified authority, he shall permit the transfer of
ownership of that periodical:
Provided that the Press Registrar General may, after giving an opportunity of being heard and for
reasons to be recorded in writing, refuse to permit such transfer of ownership of a periodical.
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(4) The owner of the periodical shall, on receipt of the permission from the Press Registrar General
under sub-section (3), forward a copy of the same to the publisher, and the publisher shall apply and obtain
a revised certificate of registration in accordance with the provisions of section 7.
(5) The owner of a periodical shall intimate any change in the shareholding pattern of his company
within fifteen days of such change being informed by him to the Registrar of Companies.
10. Discontinuation of a periodical.—(1) The owner of a periodical may discontinue a periodical
registered under this Act and shall, within six months of such discontinuation, intimate to the Press Registrar
General and the specified authority, within whose local jurisdiction such periodical is published, about such
discontinuation.
(2) The Press Registrar General shall, on receipt of intimation from the publisher under
sub-section (1), cancel the certificate of registration of the discontinued periodical and remove the
periodical along with its title from the register maintained under clause (b) of sub-section (3) of section 5.
11. Suspension or cancellation of registration.—(1) The Press Registrar General may, by order, for
a period not less than thirty days but not exceeding one hundred and eighty days, suspend the certificate of
registration of a periodical, if—
(a) the registration was obtained on false representation or on concealment of any material fact; or
(b) the publisher has failed to publish the periodical continuously.
Explanation.—For the removal of doubts, it is hereby clarified that if a periodical publishes less
than half of its issues, as are required to be published in a calendar year in accordance with the
application made under sub-section (2) of section 7, such periodical shall be deemed to have failed to
publish continuously; or
(c) the publisher has given false particulars in the annual statement; or
(d) the publisher has failed to furnish the annual statement within two years from the end of the
financial year for which the annual statement was to be furnished.
(2) The Press Registrar General may cancel the certificate of registration of a periodical, where the
publisher fails to remove the defects of the grounds on which the said certificate was suspended under
sub-section (1) before the expiry of the period of such suspension.
(3) The Press Registrar General may, by order, cancel the certificate of registration of a periodical
which—
(a) bears the same or similar title already held by any other owner of a periodical, either in the same
language anywhere in India or in any other language in the same State or Union territory; or
(b) violates the guidelines made under sub-section (3) of section 7.
(4) The Press Registrar General may, by order, cancel the certificate of Registration of a periodical
where the owner or publisher of such periodical has been convicted by any court for an offence—
(a) involving terrorist act or unlawful activity; or
(b) for having done anything against the security of the State.
Explanation.—For the purposes of this section, the expressions “terrorist act” and “unlawful
activity” shall have the meanings respectively assigned to them in clauses (k) and (o) of
sub-section (1) of section 2 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (37 of 1967).
(5) No order for suspension or cancellation of certificate of registration shall be passed under this
section, without giving an opportunity of being heard to the publisher or owner of the periodical, as the case
may be.
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(6) A copy of order of suspension or cancellation passed under this section shall be made available to
the Central Government or State Government or Union territory Administration, as the case may be, and to
the specified authority.
(7) The Press Registrar General may, after the cancellation of certificate of registration of a periodical
under this section, issue a new certificate of registration to such periodical bearing another title, if the
publisher of that periodical makes an application to that effect in conformity with the guidelines made
under sub-section (3) of section 7.
(8) The Press Registrar General may, in such circumstances and manner, as may be prescribed,
authorise the specified authority to suspend or cancel the certificate of registration granted under
section 7.
12. Annual statement to be furnished by periodical.—The publisher of a periodical shall furnish to
the Press Registrar General an annual statement in respect of the periodical, at such time, in such form and
giving such particulars, as may be prescribed.
(2) The publisher of every newspaper in India shall, subject to any rules made under this Act, deliver
free of cost to the Press Registrar General and to the State Government one copy of each issue of such
newspaper within forty-eight hours.
13. Annual report.—The Press Registrar General shall prepare and publish an annual report containing
information in respect of the periodicals in India.
CHAPTER V
PENALTIES
14. Power of Press Registrar General to impose penalty.—(1) The Press Registrar General may
impose penalty, if—
(a) a periodical is published without obtaining a certificate of registration under section 7;
(b) the publisher fails to furnish the annual statement as required under section 12 within one year
from the end of the financial year in respect of which the annual statement was required to be furnished:
Provided that no order of imposition of penalty shall be passed without giving an opportunity of being
heard to the publisher.
(2) Where a periodical is published without obtaining a certificate of registration under section 7, the
Press Registrar General may impose a penalty of an amount not exceeding five lakh rupees with a direction
to the publisher to cease the publication of such periodical.
(3) The quantum of penalty imposable under clause (b) of sub-section (1) shall be not less than ten
thousand rupees but not exceeding twenty thousand rupees for the first default:
Provided that for every subsequent default, an enhanced penalty of twice such quantum may be imposed
but shall not exceed two lakh rupees
(4) Whoever fails to cease publication of periodical even after six months of issue of a direction under
sub-section (2), or publishes any other periodical without obtaining a certificate of registration under
section 7, shall be punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months.
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CHAPTER VI
APPEAL
15. Press and Registration Appellate Board.—(1) There shall be an Appellate Board to be called the
Press and Registration Appellate Board consisting of Chairperson, Press Council of India and two members
to be nominated by the Press Council of India, from among its members:
Provided that at least one of the two members shall be a person referred to in clause (d) or clause (e) of
sub-section (3) of section 5 of the Press Council Act, 1978 (37 of 1978).
(2) Any person aggrieved by an order of refusal to issue the certificate of registration under
sub-section (5) of section 7, or cancellation or suspension of registration under section 11, or order of
imposition of penalty under section 14, may, within sixty days from the date on which such order is
communicated to him, prefer an appeal before the Press and Registration Appellate Board:
Provided that the Press and Registration Appellate Board may admit an appeal after the expiry of the
said period, if it is satisfied that the appellant was prevented by sufficient cause from preferring the appeal
on time.
(3) On receipt of an appeal under this section, the Press and Registration Appellate Board may, after
calling for the records and after making such further inquiries as it deems fit, confirm, modify or set aside
the order appealed against.
(4) The manner and procedure to be followed for preferring appeals, calling for records and making
inquires under this section shall be such as may be laid down by the Chairperson, Press Council of India.
CHAPTER VII
MISCELLANEOUS
16. Power of Central Government to issue directions.—(1) Without prejudice to the foregoing
provisions of this Act, the Central Government may give directions on matters of policy to the Press
Registrar General, in writing, from time to time and the Press Registrar General shall, in the discharge of
his powers and functions under this Act, be bound by such directions.
(2) The decision of the Central Government as to whether a question is one of policy or not shall be
final.
17. Press Registrar General and other officers to be public servants.—The Press Registrar General
and all officers appointed under this Act shall be deemed to be public servants within the meaning of
section 21 of the Indian Penal Code (45 of 1860).
18. Protection of action taken in good faith.—No suit or other legal proceedings shall lie against the
Central Government or State Government or Union territory Administration or the Press Registrar General
or any officer or employee authorised by the Press Registrar General, for anything which is in good faith
done or intended to be done in pursuance of this Act or the rules made thereunder.
19. Power of Central Government to make rules.—(1) The Central Government may, by notification
in the Official Gazette, after previous publication, make rules to carry out the provisions of this Act.
(2) In particular, and without prejudice to the generality of the foregoing provisions, such rules may
provide for all or any of the following matters, namely:—
(a) the manner and particulars for furnishing an intimation before the specified authority by the
printing press under section 3;
(b) the manner of registration of a facsimile edition of a foreign periodical under sub-section (3) of
section 4;
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(c) the manner of verification of circulation figure of class of periodicals under clause (b) of
section 6;
(d) the form, fees and manner of making an online application, documents to be furnished and
particulars to be set forth under sub-section (2) of section 7;
(e) the form in which and the particulars along with which a certificate of registration shall be
issued under sub-section (5) of section 7;
(f) the manner of making an application and particulars to be set forth therein under sub-section (1)
of section 8;
(g) the form, fees and manner of making an application, documents to be furnished and particulars
to be set forth under sub-section (2) of section 9;
(h) the circumstances and manner for authorising the specified authority to suspend or cancel the
certificate of registration under sub-section (7) of section 11;
(i) the form, time and particulars for furnishing an annual statement under section 12;
(j) any other matter which is required to be, or may be, prescribed under the provisions of this Act.
(3) The State Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette of the State, make such rules not
inconsistent with the rules made by the Central Government, as may be necessary or desirable for carrying
out the objects of this Act.
(4) Every rule made by the State Government under sub-section (3) shall be laid, as soon as may be
after it is made, before the State Legislature.
20. Power to remove difficulties.—(1) If any difficulty arises in giving effect to the provisions of this
Act, the Central Government may, by order published in the Official Gazette, make such provisions not
inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, as appear to it to be necessary or expedient for removing the
difficulty:
Provided that no such order shall be made under this section after the expiry of three years from the
commencement of this Act.
(2) Every order made under this section shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made, before each
House of Parliament.
21. Laying of rules and notification.—Every rule made or notification issued by the Central
Government under this Act shall be laid, as soon as may be after it is made or issued, before each House of
Parliament while it is in session, for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one session or
in two or more successive sessions, and if, before the expiry of the session immediately following the
session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both Houses agree in making any modification in the rule or
notification or both Houses agree that the rule or notification should not be made or issued, the rule or
notification shall thereafter have effect only in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be;
so, however, that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything
previously done under that rule or notification.
22. Repeal and savings.—(1) The Press and Registration of Books Act, 1867 (25 of 1867) is hereby
repealed.
(2) Notwithstanding such repeal,—
(a) anything done or any action taken or purported to have been done or taken including any rule,
notification, inspection, order or declaration made or any document or instrument executed or any
direction given or any proceedings taken or any penalty or fine imposed under the Act hereby repealed
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shall, in so far as it is not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, be deemed to have been done or
taken under the corresponding provisions of this Act;
(b) any declaration, including title thereof, so made and authenticated under the provisions of the
Act hereby repealed, shall be deemed to have been made and authenticated under the corresponding
provisions of this Act;
(c) any proceeding pending in any court at the commencement of this Act may be continued in that
court as if this Act has not been passed;
(d) the Press Registrar General and other officers appointed under the Act hereby repealed and
holding office as such immediately before the commencement of this Act, shall, on the commencement
of this Act, continue to hold their respective offices under the corresponding provisions of this Act,
unless and until they are removed or superannuated;
(e) the Press and Registration Appellate Board established under the Act hereby repealed shall
continue to function under the corresponding provisions of this Act, unless and until the Press and
Registration Appellate Board is constituted under this Act;
(f) any appeal preferred to the Press and Registration Appellate Board hereby repealed and not
disposed of before the commencement of this Act, may be disposed of by the Press and Registration
Appellate Board constituted under this Act;
(g) any penalty payable under the Act hereby repealed may be recovered in the manner provided
by or under this Act, but without prejudice to any action already taken for the recovery of such penalty
under the Act so repealed;
(h) any certificate of registration issued or granted under the Act hereby repealed shall continue to
have effect after the commencement of this Act under the same conditions as if this Act had not been
passed.
(3) The matters referred to in clauses (a) to (h) of sub-section (2) shall not be held to prejudice or affect
the general application of section 6 of the General Clauses Act, 1897 (10 of 1897) with regard to the effect
of such repeal.
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