ICAI Valuation Standards 2026 Exposure Draft: Seven Drafts Open for Comment Till 22 November
The Insolvency, Bankruptcy and Valuation Standards Board (IB&VSB) of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India released the ICAI Valuation Standards 2026 exposure draft set on 2 November 2026 and has asked for public comments by 22 November 2026. Seven documents are open: a revised Framework for the Preparation of Valuation Report and six standards covering valuation bases, approaches and methods, reporting, business valuation, intangible assets and financial instruments.
The drafts are a revision of the ICAI Valuation Standards, 2018, which have applied to valuation reports issued on or after 1 July 2018. The board says the new text reflects stakeholder feedback, the relevant International Valuation Standards and India's legal and regulatory requirements. The comment window is just under three weeks, so firms that sign valuation reports for share issues, schemes of arrangement, insolvency or tax purposes have limited time to read seven documents and respond.
The seven ICAI Valuation Standards 2026 drafts open for comment
The table below sets each draft against the 2018 document it replaces. The numbering in the 2026 set follows the 2018 scheme, which makes a side-by-side reading of the old and new text practical.
| 2026 exposure draft | 2018 counterpart | What the 2018 version governs |
|---|---|---|
| Framework for the Preparation of Valuation Report | Framework for the Preparation of Valuation Report | Concepts behind a valuation report; not itself a standard, and a standard prevails in a conflict |
| ICAI Valuation Standard 102: Valuation Bases | ICAI VS 102 | Fair value, participant specific value, liquidation value and the premises of value |
| ICAI Valuation Standard 103: Valuation Approaches and Methods | ICAI VS 103 | Market, income and cost approaches and the methods under each |
| ICAI Valuation Standard 202: Reporting and Documentation | ICAI VS 202 | Minimum contents of the valuation report and working papers |
| ICAI Valuation Standard 301: Business Valuation | ICAI VS 301 | Valuation of a business or an ownership interest in it |
| ICAI Valuation Standard 302: Intangible Assets | ICAI VS 302 | Valuation of intangible assets |
| ICAI Valuation Standard 303: Financial Instruments | ICAI VS 303 | Valuation of financial instruments |
Two parts of the 2018 set do not appear in the list: ICAI VS 101 on Definitions and ICAI VS 201 on Scope of Work, Analyses and Evaluation. The announcement does not say whether their content has been folded into the revised Framework or the other drafts, or whether they will stay in force unchanged. Readers who rely on VS 201 for engagement terms should check the drafts for where those requirements now sit before commenting. The separate draft on extractive industries, ICAI VS 304, for which the board had invited comments in January 2022, is also not part of this round.
Where the 2018 standards stand today
The ICAI Valuation Standards, 2018 make compliance mandatory for the valuer, and a report cannot be described as compliant unless it meets every relevant requirement. The Framework defines a valuer as a registered valuer under Section 247 of the Companies Act, 2013, and extends the standards to valuations carried out under other laws, including income tax, SEBI, FEMA and RBI requirements. Where the law and the standards differ, the law prevails.
The 2018 set carries an interim status. Its cover note says the standards stay effective until the Central Government notifies valuation standards under Rule 18 of the Companies (Registered Valuers and Valuation) Rules, 2017. The 2026 revision does not change that position; it updates the standards that apply in the meantime. The announcement gives no effective date for the revised text, and the 2018 standards continue to govern reports until final 2026 standards are issued with their own dates.
What to compare when reviewing the drafts
A useful comment letter points to a specific paragraph and explains the practical effect of a change. The 2018 text gives a clear baseline for that comparison in each area.
On valuation bases, VS 102 of 2018 recognises three bases. Fair value is the price that would be received to sell an asset in an orderly transaction between market participants. Participant specific value reflects the particular advantages or disadvantages of identified parties. Liquidation value is the amount realised on sale of an asset or group of assets when the business is assumed to end, and the valuer must disclose whether an orderly or forced transaction is assumed. The standard also lists five premises of value: highest and best use, going concern value, as-is-where-is value, orderly liquidation and forced transaction. Any change in how the 2026 draft defines a base or a premise will flow into every report that states one.
On approaches and methods, VS 103 of 2018 names the Market Price Method, the Comparable Companies Multiple Method and the Comparable Transaction Multiple Method under the market approach. Under the income approach it lists the Discounted Cash Flow Method, the Relief from Royalty Method, the Multi-Period Excess Earnings Method, the With and Without Method and option pricing models such as Black-Scholes-Merton and binomial models. Under the cost approach it covers the Replacement Cost Method and the Reproduction Cost Method. Practitioners who mainly use DCF and comparable multiples for share valuations under the Companies Act or income-tax rules should read the revised VS 103 closely for new guidance on method selection, weighting and reconciliation.
On reporting, VS 202 of 2018 sets thirteen minimum contents for a valuation report. These include background information on the asset, the purpose and the appointing authority, the identity of the valuer and any other experts, disclosure of the valuer's interest or conflict, the dates of appointment, valuation and report, inspections or investigations undertaken, the nature and sources of information relied on, the procedures and standards followed, the methodology, restrictions on use, the major factors considered, the conclusion, and caveats and limitations that may not limit the valuer's responsibility. The report must also be signed with the valuer's name and registration details. Firms that run a standard report template should map each of these items to the revised VS 202 and flag any new disclosure that would need a template change.
The international backdrop to the ICAI revision
The board cites the International Valuation Standards as one input. The International Valuation Standards Council ran its own IVS exposure draft consultation in 2026, open from 30 January to 30 April 2026, covering both the general and the asset standards. The council plans to publish the updated IVS in January 2027 with an effective date of 31 January 2028, and its proposals address valuation risk, technology and artificial intelligence, sustainability and quality control. Reviewers who work on cross-border transactions may want to check how far the ICAI drafts move towards that next IVS edition, since a gap between the two could mean reports prepared for Indian and overseas users have to meet different requirements.
How to submit comments by 22 November 2026
The board prefers comments filed electronically through the link given in the Exposure Draft section of each standard on the IB&VSB page of the ICAI website. Comments can also be emailed to commentsvsb@icai.in or posted to the Secretary, Insolvency, Bankruptcy and Valuation Standards Board, The Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, ICAI Bhawan, A-29, Sector-62, Noida 201309. All three routes close on 22 November 2026.
Because each draft has its own submission link, a firm commenting on more than one standard will need to file separately for each. Comments on the Framework, VS 102 and VS 103 affect every valuation, so they deserve priority if time is short; comments on VS 301, VS 302 or VS 303 matter most to valuers who specialise in those asset classes. The next date to watch after 22 November is the issue of the final ICAI Valuation Standards, 2026 and the effective date the board attaches to them, which will decide from which reports the revised requirements apply.
Official source: View the official source document
