Can the 31-month national phase deadline be extended?

Possibly, but it should never be relied upon in planning.

Rule 138 was substituted by the Patents (Amendment) Rules, 2024 with effect from 15 March 2024 and is now titled "Power to extend time specified or condone delay". It permits the Controller to extend time, or condone a delay, for up to six months on a request in Form 4 accompanied by a substantial official fee. The request may be made more than once, provided it is made before the six-month window closes.

Three points matter in practice:

• The power is discretionary. Extensions are ordinarily considered only where the applicant can demonstrate a genuine intention to pursue the application. Inadvertence and docketing failure are not, by themselves, persuasive.

• Before the 2024 amendment, the 31-month deadline was widely treated as inextensible, and Indian courts took a strict view of missed national phase entries. The amended rule has been read as opening a route to relief and the e-filing portal now accepts such requests, but the position is still settling.

• The official fees involved are high.

Treat 31 months as a hard date and use Rule 138 only as a recovery mechanism.