Court fee on appeal follows the filing date of the memorandum, applying the amended rule to later appeals.

Section 52A of the Kerala Court Fees and Suits Valuation Act regulates court fee by reference to the filing of the memorandum of appeal, not the date on which the original assessment proceedings began. The vested right of appeal is ordinarily preserved unless later legislation clearly alters it, but the amended wording and the revised Schedule indicate legislative intent to apply the new fee to appeals filed after the provision came into force. The provision operates as a special rule distinct from the general scheme on court fees, so the Revenue's objection to the higher fee was rejected.

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Issues: Whether section 52A of the Kerala Court Fees and Suits Valuation Act, 1959 applies to appeals filed after its insertion against tribunal orders arising from earlier assessment proceedings, and whether the expression "memorandum of appeal filed" manifests retrospective operation so as to override the vested right regarding court fee.

Analysis: The right of appeal is a substantive and vested right that accrues on the commencement of the lis, and it cannot be impaired by later legislation unless such intention is made clear by express words or necessary implication. The provision in section 52A fixes court fee with reference to the filing of the memorandum of appeal before the High Court, and does not tie liability to the date of initiation of assessment proceedings. Unlike provisions that expressly state that the new requirement applies to appeals made on or after a specified date irrespective of the commencement of proceedings, section 52A uses language that focuses on the act of filing. Read with the amended Schedule, the provision shows a legislative intent to regulate court fee on all appeals filed after the section came into force. The change is also a special provision distinct from the general scheme of sections 51 and 52 of the Act.

Conclusion: Section 52A operates on appeals filed after its commencement and the Revenue's objection that only the earlier fixed fee was payable was rejected.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a statute regulating court fee on appeal makes liability turn on the filing of the memorandum of appeal, the amended fee applies to appeals filed after the commencement of the provision, even if the underlying proceedings began earlier, if such retrospective effect is necessarily implied by the statutory language.

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