Rendition of accounts claims need not pay ad valorem court fee at filing when no liquidated amount is stated.

A counterclaim for rendition of accounts that does not assert a definite, ascertained and liquidated monetary claim is not required to bear ad valorem court fee at the filing stage. Where the pleadings show only a tentative valuation linked to the amount that may emerge on final accounting, an undertaking to pay court fee once the amount due is adjudicated is sufficient to protect the revenue. The precedent on a specifically quantified claim was therefore inapplicable, and the counterclaim was not rejected for non-payment of ad valorem court fee at that stage.

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Issues: Whether the counterclaim seeking rendition of accounts required payment of ad valorem court fee at the stage of filing, in view of the manner in which the claim was valued.

Analysis: The pleadings, read as a whole, showed that the defendant had not asserted a definite, ascertained and liquidated monetary claim. The valuation figures mentioned in the counterclaim were only tentative and were linked to the amount that might ultimately emerge on rendition of accounts. In such a case, the undertaking to pay ad valorem court fee when the amount is finally adjudicated sufficiently protected the revenue, and the cited precedent on a definite quantified claim did not apply.

Conclusion: The counterclaim was not liable to be rejected for non-payment of ad valorem court fee at that stage, and the application was dismissed.

Final Conclusion: A counterclaim framed for rendition of accounts, carrying only a tentative valuation and an undertaking to pay court fee on the amount ultimately found due, does not attract immediate ad valorem court fee.

Ratio Decidendi: Where a claim for rendition of accounts does not state a definite, ascertained and liquidated amount, ad valorem court fee is not payable at the filing stage and may be recovered when the amount is finally determined.

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