Who is registered to value jewellery in India - and why "IBBI registered" is the wrong claim
For anyone commissioning a jewellery or gold valuation and checking the valuer is registered for it, and for valuers working out which registration they need.
Last reviewed 26 September 2026 · reviewed by Mr. Chintan Bavishi
The short answer
Jewellery is not an IBBI asset class. The registered-valuer framework administered
by IBBI under the Companies Act, 2013 covers three asset classes only: Land and Building, Plant and
Machinery, and Securities or Financial Assets.
Jewellery is its own registered-valuer class - class 8 of eleven - under the
Income-tax Rules, 2026, made under section 514 of the Income-tax Act, 2025. A valuer registers
separately for each class. So a firm advertising an "IBBI registered" credential for gold or jewellery
work is citing a register that does not cover it.
Key facts
IBBI asset classes (Companies Act, 2013)
Three, and only three: Land and Building; Plant and Machinery; Securities or Financial Assets. Jewellery is not among them.
Where jewellery sits instead
Class 8 of the eleven registered-valuer classes under the Income-tax Rules, 2026, made under section 514 of the Income-tax Act, 2025.
Separate registration per class
A valuer must register separately for each class they intend to practise in. Registration for immovable property does not extend to jewellery, and vice versa.
The application form
Form 169 - "Application for registration as a valuer under section 514 of Income-tax Act, 2025".
Registration deadline
31 March 2027, extended from 30 September 2026 by CBDT Notification No. 120/2026 dated 17 September 2026 (G.S.R. 822(E)), the Income-tax (Fourth Amendment) Rules, 2026, amending rules 246(4) and 256(4).
Practical effect for clients
Ask which class the valuer is registered in for the asset you are having valued - not whether they are "a registered valuer" in general.
The eleven classes under the Income-tax Rules, 2026
The Income-tax Rules, 2026 set out eleven distinct classes of registered valuer. They are
worth listing in full, because the granularity is the point - the classes are narrower than
most people assume:
Immovable property (other than agricultural lands, plantations, forests, mines and quarries)
Agricultural lands (other than plantations)
Coffee, tea, rubber and cardamom plantations
Forests
Mines and quarries
Stocks, shares, debentures, securities, shares in partnership firms and business assets
Machinery and plant
Jewellery
Works of art
Life interest, reversions and interest in expectancy
Any other asset
A valuer applies for each class separately. Someone registered for class 1 is registered for
immovable property and nothing else; jewellery work requires class 8 in its own right.
Why the IBBI confusion is so widespread
Two parallel registered-valuer regimes exist in India, they were created for different
purposes, and "registered valuer" is used loosely for both.
The Companies Act lineage. Section 247 of the Companies Act, 2013 with
the Companies (Registered Valuers and Valuation) Rules, 2017, administered by IBBI. Built
for company-law and insolvency valuations. Three asset classes.
The income-tax lineage. Historically the register under section 34AB
of the Wealth Tax Act, 1957, carried forward for income-tax purposes, and now restated
under section 514 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 with the Income-tax Rules, 2026. Built for
valuations the tax authorities rely on. Eleven classes, including jewellery.
IBBI is more visible - it runs public examinations and a searchable register - so "IBBI
registered" has drifted into use as a general mark of credibility. For jewellery it is simply
the wrong register, and a client who checks the IBBI register for a jewellery valuer will not
find the credential there, because it is not issued there.
We are direct about this because our own gold and jewellery pages previously carried that
claim. It was wrong, it has been removed at the source, and the credentialing logic on this
site is now structured so that a jewellery page cannot render an IBBI claim at all.
The transition, and what it means between now and 31 March 2027
The Income-tax Rules, 2026 brought in the new registration framework, with existing valuers
required to register under it. That deadline was originally 30 September 2026 and has been
extended to 31 March 2027 by CBDT Notification No. 120/2026 dated
17 September 2026 (the Income-tax (Fourth Amendment) Rules, 2026), which amended rules 246(4)
and 256(4). The same amendment revised Forms 169 and 171.
During a transition, the sensible questions to ask a valuer are practical ones:
Which class are you registered in for this asset, and under which framework?
If you are mid-transition, what is the position of your registration today, and will
it be current on the date of the report?
Will the report state your registration particulars, so the receiving authority can
check them?
A valuer who can answer those three plainly is the one to engage. Note that registration
requirements can be revised again during a transition period - check the current CBDT position
before relying on a date stated anywhere, including here.
What a jewellery valuation report should contain
Independently of the registration question, a jewellery valuation that will be relied on -
for tax, for probate or family settlement, for insurance, or for a visa net-worth statement -
needs to show its working:
Item-by-item description: gross weight, net weight of precious metal,
purity or caratage, and stones described separately.
The purity basis: hallmark details where present, and how purity was
established where not.
The rate applied and its date and source. This matters enormously for
retrospective valuations, where the rate for a historical date must be evidenced rather
than estimated.
Treatment of making charges, wastage and stones, stated explicitly
rather than absorbed silently into the figure.
The basis and purpose of value, since the number for insurance
replacement is not the number for a tax assessment.
The valuer's registration particulars and signature.
Jewellery acquired before April 2001
One consequential difference from property: where you are establishing a fair market value
as on 1 April 2001 for capital gains, the stamp-duty-value ceiling in section 55(2)(b) applies
only to "a capital asset, being land or building or both".
Jewellery is neither, and stamp duty values do not exist for movable property, so there is
no ceiling. The 1 April 2001 value for jewellery rests entirely on evidenced historical rates
adjusted for weight and purity - which puts the quality of the valuer's sourcing at the centre
of the exercise. Our guide to
fair market value as on 1 April 2001
covers the rule in full.
Registration rules are in transition. The framework described here is changing between
now and 31 March 2027, and CBDT has already extended that deadline once. The positions stated above
were verified on the date shown against the sources listed below, but check the current CBDT
notification before relying on any date or form number, and confirm with the authority receiving your
report which registration it requires.
Common questions
Is jewellery an IBBI asset class?
No. IBBI registers valuers in three asset classes under the Companies Act, 2013 framework: Land and Building, Plant and Machinery, and Securities or Financial Assets. Jewellery is not one of them. Jewellery is a separate registered-valuer class under the Income-tax Rules, 2026.
So what registration should a jewellery valuer hold?
Registration in the jewellery class - class 8 of the eleven classes under the Income-tax Rules, 2026, made under section 514 of the Income-tax Act, 2025. Registration in any other class, including any IBBI asset class, does not cover jewellery work.
What is Form 169?
Form 169 is the application for registration as a valuer under section 514 of the Income-tax Act, 2025. It was revised by the Income-tax (Fourth Amendment) Rules, 2026, notified by CBDT as Notification No. 120/2026 dated 17 September 2026.
When is the registration deadline?
31 March 2027. It was extended from 30 September 2026 by CBDT Notification No. 120/2026 dated 17 September 2026, which amended rules 246(4) and 256(4) of the Income-tax Rules, 2026. Because it has already been extended once, confirm the current position with CBDT before relying on that date.
Can one valuer be registered for both property and jewellery?
Yes, but only by registering separately for each class. The classes are independent, and registration in one does not imply competence or authority in another. Ask which classes a valuer holds rather than assuming breadth.
Does the stamp duty value cap apply to pre-2001 jewellery?
No. The cap in section 55(2)(b) applies to a capital asset being land or building or both. Jewellery is not land or a building, and stamp duty values exist only for immovable property, so the fair market value as on 1 April 2001 for jewellery is established on evidenced historical rates without a ceiling.
Sources
Everything stated above is checkable. These are the documents it comes from - read them
yourself rather than relying on this summary for anything that carries consequences.
IBBI - Valuation Examination FAQsIBBI's own statement that the Valuation Examination is conducted for three asset classes: Land and Building, Plant and Machinery, and Securities or Financial Assets.
Income Tax DepartmentSection 514 of the Income-tax Act, 2025 and the Income-tax Rules, 2026, which define the eleven registered-valuer classes including jewellery.
Reviewed by Mr. Chintan Bavishi · LinkedIn · 26 September 2026.
ValuationZone is not itself a registered valuer and does not sign reports; assignments are carried
out by a panel of 300+ independent registered valuers, Chartered Engineers and Chartered Accountants.
Need a jewellery valuation from the right register
Tell us what is being valued and what the report is for - tax, probate, insurance or a visa net-worth statement. We will confirm which registered-valuer class applies and what the report has to contain for that purpose.