Section 132 — The Most Institutionally Demanding Art and Antique Valuation Context
When the Income Tax Department conducts a search under Section 132 and discovers art objects, antiques, paintings, sculptures, and other valuables, the Authorised Officers must inventory and value these items.
The Government Approved Valuer called to the premises must: rapidly identify and describe each object; assess its apparent age and AATA status; establish an approximate FMV; and distinguish between objects that can be valued immediately from first principles and those that require further scientific analysis before a definitive value can be stated.
This is the most demanding possible context for art and antique valuation — working under time pressure in a search environment, with objects that may not have provenance documentation available, assessing potentially hundreds of items across multiple categories.
A2Z Valuers in Section 132 Art & Antique Valuation
A2Z Valuers occupies a unique position in Section 132 art and antique valuations: Nitesh Shrivastava is appointed by the Income Tax Department for these PAN India valuations.
He is both the Department’s own expert and, when engaged by the assessee or their counsel for a private-side challenge to the Department’s assessment, the practitioner with the most direct knowledge of how the Department’s own search valuations are conducted.
Valuation Under Search Conditions
Rapid Identification
Each discovered object must be rapidly identified, described and classified before its valuation position can be established.
AATA Status
The apparent age and AATA antiquity status of an object can materially affect its legal and valuation context.
Immediate FMV
An approximate Fair Market Value may need to be established immediately from available evidence.
Scientific Escalation
Certain objects may require further scientific analysis before a definitive valuation can responsibly be stated.
Challenging a Search Valuation of Art and Antiques
For assessees who have received an Income Tax search notice involving art and antiques, the most effective challenge to the Department’s valuation is a certificate from the same practitioner the Department itself relies on.
Need Expert Support for an Income Tax Search Valuation?
Discuss your art, antique or valuation requirement with A2Z Valuers and get expert guidance on the appropriate valuation route.