City lawyers are calling for the Government to reverse the recent rise in civil court fees after it emerged the courts made a profit of £45.5m last year, according to official figures.

The calls come after the Department for Constitutional Affairs (DCA) reported that recent rises in court fees had led to a £45.5m cash surplus for the service – accounting for almost 14% of its 2006 turnover.

In 2005, fees for civil claims rose by 150% while a number of new charges – such as a £1,700 toll for registering a claim over £300,000 – were also created.

The DCA is currently consulting on whether to introduce daily court fees for civil cases as a means of making the civil courts fully self-funding. The deadline for responses to the consultation paper is June.

Commenting on the figures, Reynolds Porter Chamberlain litigation partner Duncan Harman-Wilson said: "It is pretty shocking to see the level of profits that are now being raked in from civil court users."

He added: "Companies [which are] forced to use the civil courts will question whether it is right for the Government to use the civil courts to subsidise other parts of the justice system. It has become a form of taxation."