(1) Every question relating to valuation for the purpose of determining the amount of any fee chargeable under this Chapter on a plaint or memorandum of appeal shall be decided by the Court in which such plaint or memorandum, as the case may be, is filed, and such decision shall be final as between the parties to the suit.
(2) But whenever any such suit comes before a Court of appeal, reference or revision, if such Court considers that the said question has been wrongly decided to the detriment of the revenue, it shall require the party by whom such fee has been paid to pay so much additional fee as would have been payable had the question been rightly decided, and the provisions of section 10, paragraph (2), shall apply.
Legal Commentary & Landmark Judgments: Section 12
Section 12 of the Court-Fees Act, 1870 establishes the finality of court determinations regarding the valuation of suits as between the parties, subject to limited revisional and appellate review.
Section 12 establishes finality in suit valuation determinations between litigating parties, preventing vexatious preliminary valuation challenges from obstructing trial progress.
However, sub-section (2) provides that whenever a court of appeal, reference, or revision finds that the subject-matter was wrongly valued to the detriment of revenue, it may require the party responsible to pay the deficit fee before proceeding with the appeal, preserving the supervisory jurisdiction of superior courts to protect public revenue.
The *Rathnavarmaraja* and *Shamsher Singh* dichotomy is vital: if the dispute is whether the market value is ten lakhs or fifteen lakhs (pure valuation), Section 12 bars the defendant from filing a civil revision. But if the dispute is whether the suit falls under Section 7(iv)(c) [ad valorem] or Schedule II Article 17 [fixed fee] (classification of suit), a revision is maintainable.