What is a registered valuer, and why does IBBI registration matter?
Anyone can give you an opinion on what your property is worth. Far fewer people can sign a document that a bank, a court or the Income-Tax Department will actually rely on. Here is the difference, and how to check it.
The distinction that catches people out
Property valuation in India is not a single regulated title in the way that, say, medicine is. A broker can tell you a figure. A builder can tell you a figure. A neighbour who sold last year will certainly tell you a figure. None of those are valuations in the sense that matters when an institution is deciding something.
What institutions want is a report signed by someone whose competence has been formally assessed and recorded, who carries professional accountability for the opinion. That is what registration provides.
IBBI registration
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India administers the registration framework for valuers established under the Companies Act and the associated valuation rules. Registration covers distinct asset classes, and land and building is the relevant one for property.
Becoming registered is not a formality. It requires the prescribed educational and professional qualifications, the required period of post-qualification experience, completion of an approved educational course, passing the valuation examination for the asset class, and enrolment with a registered valuers organisation. Registered valuers are subject to a code of conduct and to disciplinary consequences if they breach it.
That last point is the substance of it. A registered valuer has something to lose by signing a figure they cannot defend. That is precisely why the report carries weight.
What "government approved" means. The phrase is used loosely in this industry. Ask specifically which registration a firm holds and under what framework. A firm that cannot answer that question quickly, with a registration number, is telling you something.
Where registration is effectively mandatory
- Income-tax matters. Where a valuation supports a cost of acquisition, a fair market value as on 1 April 2001 or an asset schedule, the department expects a registered valuer's report. See our capital gains valuation page.
- Bank lending. Lenders require reports from approved valuers, and many maintain their own empanelled lists in addition. Our bank loan page explains how to check which applies to you.
- Insolvency and company matters. Valuation under the insolvency framework and various Companies Act requirements must be carried out by registered valuers of the relevant asset class.
- Courts and legal proceedings. No rule compels it in every matter, but the standing of the person signing directly affects the weight the report carries when it is tested.
- Visa and immigration. Consulates generally expect a report from an approved valuer on letterhead with registration details shown. See our visa valuation page.
How to check a valuer before you instruct them
- Ask for the registration number for the land and building asset class, and the name it is registered in. A registered valuer will have this to hand.
- Check that it is an individual registration. Reports are signed by a registered individual. A firm name alone does not answer the question.
- Confirm a site visit is included. A valuation prepared without anyone seeing the property is a desk estimate, whatever it is called on the cover.
- Ask to see the report structure. A proper report states the valuation date, the purpose, the method, the comparable evidence and the limitations. One page with a figure on it is not a valuation report.
- Watch for a promised figure. Any valuer who commits to a number before inspecting the property is not valuing anything. They are quoting for a document, and it is a document that will not survive scrutiny.
Why we keep saying this. A rejected report is not merely wasted money. It is wasted time at the worst possible moment, when a filing deadline has passed, a loan sanction has stalled or a court date is approaching. The cost of getting it right the first time is almost always smaller than the cost of getting it wrong once.
Our position
Our valuers are government-approved and registered with the IBBI for land and building, and every report we issue carries the signing valuer's registration details, signature and seal. We have been doing this for thirty five years across more than one hundred thousand reports. If you want to verify our credentials before instructing us, ask and we will provide them. That is a reasonable question and any firm worth using will answer it without hesitation.
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