173Payment of court-fees under this Act

(1) No court-fee shall be payable when the first application is filed by a party to any proceeding under this Act.

(2) Any second or subsequent application made in the course of the same proceeding shall bear a court-fee stamp of four annas only:

Provided that when, under this Act, any sum is collected by a revenue court as arrears of revenue or as sayar on behalf of an applicant or a party to a proceeding, or when the amount of a decree is paid into court under section 98, such court shall, notwithstanding anything in this Act, before making payment to the person entitled, deduct seven and a half per cent. of the amount so collected or paid into court as court-fee and pay the balance to such person:

Provided further that if in any case, after issues have been framed and any evidence has been recorded, the first application is dismissed or withdrawn, the trial court or the confirming court, as the case may be, shall assess the amount of the court-fee which, but for the provisions of sub-sections (1) and (2), the applicant would have been liable to pay under the Court-Fees Act, 1870 (7 of 1870), as applied to the State, deduct the amount, if any, paid as court-fee under sub-section (2) and recover the balance as arrears of revenue.