(Under Rule 12(e) of the Companies (Registered Valuers and Valuation) Rules, 2017)
1. A valuer should in the conduct of his/its business follow high standards of integrity and
fairness in all his/its dealings with his/its clients and other valuers.
2. A valuer should maintain integrity by being honest, straightforward, and forthright in all
professional relationships.
3. A valuer should endeavour to ensure that he/it provides true and adequate
information and shall not misrepresent any facts or situations.
4. A valuer should refrain from being involved in any action that would bring disrepute to
the profession.
5. A valuer Shall keep public interest foremost while delivering free services.
6. A valuer should render at all times high standards of service, exercise, due diligence,
ensure proper care and exercise independent professional judgment.
7. A valuer should carry out professional services in accordance with the relevant technical
and professional standards that may be specified from time to time
8. A valuer should continuously maintain professional knowledge and skill to provide
competent professional service based on up-to-date developments in practice, prevailing
regulations/guidelines and techniques.
9. In the preparation of a valuation report, the valuer should not disclaim liability for his/its
expertise or deny his/its duty of care, except to the extent that the assumptions are
statements of fact provided by the company and not generated by the valuer.
10. A valuer should have a duty to carry out with care and skill, the instructions of the client
insofar as they are compatible with the requirements of integrity, objectivity and
independence.
11. A valuer shall clearly state to his client te services that he would be competent to provide and the services for which he would be relying on the other valuers or professionals or for which the client can have a separate arrangement with other valuers.
12. A valuer should act with objectivity in his/its professional dealings by ensuring that
his/its decisions are made without the presence of any bias, conflict of interest, coercion,
or undue influence of any party, whether directly connected to the valuation assignment
or not.
13. A valuer should not take up an assignment under the Act/Rules if he/it or any of his/its
relatives or associates is not independent in relation to the company and assets being valued.
14. A valuer should maintain complete independence in his/its professional relationships and
shall conduct the valuation independent of external influences.
15. A valuer should wherever necessary disclose to the clients, possible sources of conflicts
of duties and interests, while providing unbiased services.
16. A valuer should not deal in securities of any subject company after any time when he/it
first becomes aware of the possibility of his/its association with the valuation, and in
accordance with the SEBI (Prohibition of Insider Trading) Regulations, 2015.
17. A valuer should not indulge in “mandate snatching” or “convenience valuations” in order
to cater to the company’s needs or client needs.
18. As an independent valuer, the valuer should not charge success fee.
19. In any fairness opinion or independent expert opinion submitted by a valuer, if there has
been a prior engagement in an unconnected transaction, the valuer should declare the past
association with the company during the last 5 years.
20. A valuer should not use or divulge to other clients or any other party any
confidential information about the subject company, which has come to his/its
knowledge without proper and specific authority or unless there is a legal or professional right or duty to disclose.
21. A valuer should ensure that he/ it maintains written contemporaneous records for any decision taken, the reasons for taking the decision, and the information and evidence in support of such decision. This should be maintained so as to sufficiently enable a reasonable person to take a view on the appropriateness of his/its decisions and actions.
22. A valuer should appear, co-operate and be available for inspections and investigations carried out by the Registration Authority, any person authorised by the Registration Authority, the Valuation Professional Organisation with which he/it is registered or any other statutory regulatory body.
23. A valuer should provide all information and records as may be required by the Registration Authority, the Tribunal, Appellate Tribunal, the Valuation Professional Organisation with which he/it is registered, or any other statutory regulatory body.
24. A valuer while respecting the confidentiality of information acquired during the course of performing professional services, should maintain proper working papers for a period of three years, for production before a regulatory authority or for a peer review. In the event of a pending case before the Tribunal or Appellate Tribunal, the record should be maintained till the disposal of the case.
25. A valuer, or his/its relative should not accept gifts or hospitality which undermines or affects his independence as a valuer.
Explanation – For the purposes of this code the term ‘Relative’ shall have the same meaning as defined in clause (77) of section 2 of the Companies Act, 2013 (18 of 2013).
26. A valuer should not offer gifts or hospitality or a financial or any other advantage to a public servant or any other person, intending to obtain or retain work for himself/ itself, or to obtain or retain an advantage in the conduct of profession for himself/ itself.
27. A valuer should provide services for remuneration which is charged in a transparent manner, is a reasonable reflection of the work necessarily and properly undertaken, and is not inconsistent with the applicable rules.
28. A valuer should not accept any fees or charges other than those which are disclosed in written contract with the person to whom he would be rendering service.
29. A valuer should refrain from accepting too many assignments, if he/it is unlikely to be able to devote adequate time to each of his/ its assignments.
30. A valuer should not conduct business which in the opinion of the Registration Authority is inconsistent with the reputation of the profession.
1. For a valuer it is unethical to knowingly
i) act in a manner that is misleading or fraudulent or permit any party to use, a misleading analysis, opinion, conclusion.
ii) communicate or third party to communicate, any analysis, opinion, conclusion, or report in a manner that is misleading;
2 . A valuer should not contribute to or participate in the development, preparation, or use of an valuation, opinion, or conclusion that reasonable valuers would not believe to be justified.
3. A valuer should not engaged in misconduct of any kind that is involving crime or fraud, dishonesty, or false statements.
4. For a valuer it is unethical to fail to identify the issue to be addressed and have the inadequate knowledge and experience to complete the service competently prior to the agreement.
5. It is ethical to disclose the lack of knowledge and/or experience to the client before agreeing to perform the service , take all steps necessary to complete the service competently; and describe the lack of knowledge and/or experience and the steps taken to complete the service competently in the report.
6. For a valuer it is unethical of a service to knowingly fail to:
i) identify the appropriate procedure to be applied;
ii) Not to disclose other procedure, which could also be appropriate but not arriving desired result.
7. A Valuer Must Develop and Report Unbiased Analyses, Opinions, and Conclusions.It is unethical to knowingly contribute to or participate in the development, preparation, use, or reporting of an analysis, opinion, or conclusion that is biased.
8 . For a valuer, it is unethical to knowingly permit an entity that is wholly or partially owned or controlled by a Valuer to contribute to or participate in the development, preparation, use, or reporting of an analysis, opinion, or conclusion that is biased.
9 . A valuer must not agree to provide or provide a service (valuation etc.) that is contingent upon reporting a predetermined analysis, opinion, or conclusion.
10. It is unethical to agree to provide or provide a service that includes a hypothetical condition, unless: use of the hypothetical condition is clearly required for legal purposes, for purposes of reasonable analysis, or for purposes of comparison; and use of the hypothetical condition results in a credible analysis.
11. It is unethical to agree to provide or provide a service that includes an extraordinary assumption unless: the extraordinary assumption is required to properly develop credible opinions and conclusions the Valuer has a reasonable basis for the extraordinary assumption use of the extraordinary assumption results in a credible analysis and the Valuer should disclose the applicable requirements for the purpose of extraordinary assumptions.
12. It is unethical to agree to provide or to provide a service if a valuer has any direct or indirect, personal interest in the subject or outcome of the service or with respect to the parties involved in the service, unless: prior to agreeing to provide the service, the Valuer carefully considers the facts and reasonably concludes that his or her judgment will not be affected under the same circumstances, would reach the same conclusion.
13. A Valuer Must Not Violate the Confidential Nature of the Valuer-Client Relationship.It is unethical to disclose confidential information or an analysis, opinion, or conclusion specific to a service (Valuation or valuation consulting, or real property consulting) to anyone other than the client and those persons specifically authorized by the client Unless the Valuer er is legally required to do so by statute, ordinance, or court order.
14. A Valuer Must Not Advertise or Solicit in a Manner that is Misleading or Otherwise Contrary to the Public Interest :-
1. COMPLIANCE WITH STANDARDS
Valuers shall, at all times, observe the requirements of the Rules of Conduct.
2. PROFESSIONAL DUTY
It is the duty of Valuers to render service to their clients and employers with fidelity, to practice their vocation with integrity, honour and professionalism, to act impartially and objectively when providing independent advice, and to respect the public interest.
3. COMPETENCE
A Valuer shall not accept order in a matter where, based on a reasonable objective standard, the Valuer does not have the competence, skill and/or experience to complete the assignment, unless the assignment is completed in conjunction with a qualified and suitably experienced practitioner.
4. CONFLICT OF INTEREST
Valuers shall consider and identify any actual or potential conflict of interest when carrying out their professional duties. He will not act in a matter where such conflict or potential conflict has been identified by the Valuer or any other interested party unless all interested parties have been made aware of the situation and have consented to the Valuer continuing in the task.
5. CONFIDENTIALITY
Valuers must maintain the requirements of confidentiality in their dealings with clients and the public.
6. THE PROFESSION
Valuers shall at all times conduct business in a manner befitting their profession in accordance with reasonable public expectations.
1. Valuers shall conduct their professional duties and activities in a manner that reflects credit upon themselves and their profession. High standards of competence, honesty, loyalty, integrity and fairness shall be observed at all times.
2. Valuers shall not accept an assignment that is contingent upon or influenced by any condition or requirement for predetermined results where the exercise of objective judgment is required. Valuers shall maintain the strictest impartiality in undertaking their professional duties.
3. No Valuer shall adopt the role of advocate in a case where their duty is to exercise independence and impartiality;
4. No Valuer shall allow the performance of their professional duties to be improperly influenced by the needs or preferences of a client or other party.
5. No Valuer shall rely upon critical information supplied by a client without appropriate qualification or confirmation from other sources.
6. No Valuer shall act in any other way inconsistent with the duties of independence and impartiality.
7. Valuers in providing a valuation of real property or an opinion on a real estate matter must give a considered and reasoned answer. A Valuer's professional advice must be prepared to the highest standards of competency and rendered only after having properly ascertained and weighed the facts.
8. Valuers shall not claim or present professional qualifications which may be subject to erroneous interpretations or which they do not possess.
9. Valuers shall not maliciously or carelessly do anything to injure, directly or indirectly, the reputation or business of other Valuers.
10. A valuer should not engage in any employment, except when he has temporarily surrendered his certificate of membership with the Valuation professional Organisation with which he is registered.
1. Instructions accepted by Valuers should preferably be in writing and/or be confirmed in writing by the Valuer with sufficient detail to avoid any misinterpretation.
2. Any variations or extensions of the original instructions should similarly be confirmed in writing.
3. Valuers shall not accept instructions beyond their competence;
4. A valuation shall not be performed by a Valuer without an inspection of the Real or any property concerned.
5. The necessary inspection shall in all cases be sufficiently comprehensive to enable the Valuer to complete the valuation.
6. Valuers shall not reproduce any work or reference prepared and presented by any other Valuer, person, body or authority which creates the impression that it is their own. (In India case laws are generally taken for example)
7. Valuers shall include in reports reference to any relevant assumptions, conditions, requirements and limitations arising from their instructions or enquires, or imposed from any other source.
8. Valuers shall retain for as long as legally required, adequate file notes relevant documents which substantiate their opinions by way of inquiry, objective comparison, deduction and calculation.
9. Sometimes information is critical to the assignment but being undertaken, is relied upon by a Valuer, the source of such information should either be disclosed in the relevant report unless the information is protected by law, confidentiality, or the Valuer is prevented by privacy or other like laws from disclosing or referring to the source.
10. Valuers shall accept full responsibility for the content of their reports. Where the report relies on professional opinion from outside experts, the degree of reliance must be indicated.
11. Co-signatories to reports shall indicate the extent of their involvement or the capacity in which they are signing.
1. Valuers shall not accept or carry out any instruction where there may be, or may reasonably be construed to be a conflict of interest. Valuers shall withdraw from any instruction if a conflict of interest arises or becomes known after an instruction has been accepted. An exception to this clause is where the conflict of interest is disclosed to and accepted by the party or parties.
2. Where a conflict of interest arises or could arise a Valuer shall promptly disclose the relevant facts to the client and where appropriate:
(a) Advise the client to obtain independent professional advice;
(b) inform the client that neither the Valuer nor the firm can act or continue to act for the client unless the appointment or instruction is confirmed in writing acknowledging the actual or potential conflict of interest; and
(c) disclose the matter in any relevant document or report.
3. Where a conflict arises or could arise between the interests of different clients of a Valuer or a firm or company of which a Valuer is a partner director or employee, a Valuer shall promptly disclose the relevant facts to the instructing client and where appropriate:
(a) advise the client to obtain independent professional advice;
(b) inform the client that neither the Valuer nor the firm can act or continue to act for the client unless the appointment or instruction is confirmed in writing acknowledging the actual or potential conflict of interest; and
(c) disclose the matter in any relevant document or report.
1. Valuers should not disclose to any other person or party any confidential information provided directly or indirectly by a client or to a client without the permission of the client except where there is a legal requirement for disclosure or the information is of public or common knowledge.
2. Valuers should conduct themselves in a manner and demeanour which is neither detrimental to their profession nor likely to lessen the confidence of clients or the public in the Institute or the profession.
3. Valuers should act promptly and efficiently in the servicing of their client’s instructions.
4. Valuers should, in the case of unavoidable delay, communicate to the client the progress being or already made.
1. One of the major abilities of a professional is the ability to identify the true nature of a client’s problem – what the client needs – and then develop the appropriate solution. It’s important to recognize the big distinction between needs and wants.
For an example, in the case of the valuation, the client might want an appraised value of Rs. X;– which might not be Rs. X in rational opinion. The valuer’s goal should be to take care of the client’s needs and wants.
Specifically, an assignment condition is unacceptable when it:
1. Destroys an valuer’s impartiality, because such a condition breaks the objectivity and independence required for the development and resulting in to a wrong value;
2. Limits the scope of work. It may lead to a wrong if the scope of work is limited to such a degree that the assignment results are not credible.;
3. Limits the content of a final report in such a manner that results in the report be misleading.”
A valuer must decline if a request comes in some ways any of the above three.
4. How To Deal with Unacceptable Requests
a. Better understand the potential client’s real needs
b. Educate the client about valuation practice and explain other aspects of valuation
An assignment letter from the client (may be bank/ Financial Institution or any other) is required to commence the job. Which should cover the details of the property to be valued, terms & conditions etc.
1. A written assignment may be a sound business practice for a number of reasons:
2. A written assignment order serves to clarify terms of the assignment
3. A written agreement provides written evidence of both the client’s and the valuer’s agreement to those terms
4. Establishing an Assignment
The definition of assignment – the fact that it includes an agreement – that implies that some dialogue must have taken place between the valuer and the client as to the terms of the agreement.
5. Those “terms” covers any number of items, ranging from the property to be valued to the due date.
6. Sometimes the dialogue takes place in a formal manner. The valuer and client might have a number of meetings and discussions. The valuer and client might draw up a written contract spelling out the agreed upon terms.
7. Sometimes, the dialogue might be so informal that both parties are hardly remember the date of occurrence. The client might be a party who takes the valuer's valuation report regularly to value more or less the same types of property, spelling more or less the same scope of work and reporting the results in the same reporting format. In such cases, the client might simply call the valuer and request the valuer to start the valuation job. But considering present scenario, at least sending the FAX or email, detailing little more than the address of the property, ie little details/character of the property is required along with the assignment.
1. A report creates first impression that a valuer can make upon people. A good report should be with analysis, opinion and conclusion.
2. A valuer should avoid poor writing skills, considering hiring someone else to prepare report is avoidable unless it is utmost necessary.
J: E-mail: is considered as Written Correspondence too.
Iesma may amend this Code after due assessment and after seeking recommendation whenever deemed necessary. In case of any conflict, the decision of I.Esma shall be final.
Please cross check the validity of COP/Membership with our members section for the assignments.