2026 Valuation Reforms explained: this guide covers what it means, who it applies to, the step-by-step process, documents required, fees, due dates and penalties in India — so you can stay compliant with confidence and avoid costly mistakes.
Four changes in 2025 and 2026 reshaped what an insolvency valuation is expected to be — a definition in the Code itself, standardised formats, the adoption of the International Valuation Standards, and a Fair Value that now reaches synergies.
The 2026 valuation reforms begin with the Code itself
The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Act, 2026, notified on 4 April 2026, formally integrated Registered Valuers into the framework of the Code itself by inserting clause (27A) in Section 3.
This elevates the valuer's status from a professional deployed under subsidiary regulations to one explicitly defined and governed under the primary legislation — the same structural move the Code made for insolvency professionals, information utilities and professional agencies.
Standardised reports and documentation
The IBBI, by circular dated 25 February 2026, amended the relevant provisions to require that valuation reports and supporting documentation be prepared in formats to be specified by the Board. Although the detailed format is awaited, the objective is stated:
- uniform disclosures;
- improved comparability of valuation reports;
- enhanced auditability; and
- reduced disputes arising from ambiguity or inconsistent reporting practices.
International Valuation Standards adopted
By circular dated 1 April 2026, the IBBI adopted the International Valuation Standards issued by the International Valuation Standards Council for valuations undertaken under the Code and the regulations framed thereunder.
Application is not mechanical. Valuers must adapt the standards to insolvency-specific conditions including distress, limited marketability, constrained timelines and uncertainty in operations and recoveries.
The amended definition of Fair Value under the CIRP Regulations expressly incorporates tangible assets, intangible assets and underlying synergies.
That is a shift from a fragmented asset-level approach to an integrated enterprise valuation perspective — recognising that a corporate debtor's value may arise not from individual assets but from the integrated functioning of those assets as a going concern.
The practical consequence is that summing three asset-class valuations no longer produces Fair Value. Anything the business is worth beyond the sum of its parts — brand, customer relationships, assembled operations, the integration itself — now has to be identified, valued and justified.
What the expanded definition demands of the valuer
- Consider the business as an integrated economic unit.
- Assess value arising from synergies and intangible assets.
- Justify assumptions relating to future performance, enterprise value and cash flows.
Each of those significantly increases analytical depth, and each of them is an assumption-driven exercise — which is precisely why the reform is paired with heightened disclosure, reasoning and justification requirements.
The Coordinating Valuer
Under the revised Regulation 35 framework:
- the set of valuers must comprise one Registered Valuer for each asset class of the corporate debtor; and
- one valuer within the set is designated Coordinating Valuer by the RP in consultation with the CoC.
The Coordinating Valuer must consider the estimates submitted by the valuers in the set, incorporate enterprise-level synergies, compute fair value at an enterprise level, and submit the consolidated outcome to the resolution professional. The framework also retains mechanisms for addressing significant divergence through additional valuers and determination on the closest estimates.
What the 2026 valuation reforms are collectively aimed at
| Objective | Delivered by |
|---|---|
| Consistency in valuation approaches | IVS adoption; standardised formats |
| Reduced unwarranted divergence in outcomes | Coordinating Valuer; closest-estimates mechanism |
| Credibility and defensibility of conclusions | Disclosure and justification requirements |
| Institutional standing of the valuer | Section 3(27A) |
The direction is summarised in one line: valuation under the Code must be structured, integrated, comparable and defensible — a shift from process-compliance to process-quality.
Common mistakes
- Applying pre-2026 practice and computing Fair Value by adding the asset-class valuations.
- Overlooking that the 2026 valuation reforms made the standards mandatory rather than indicative.
- Applying the International Valuation Standards without adapting them to distress conditions.
- Treating synergies and intangibles as outside the scope of an insolvency valuation.
- Assuming the Coordinating Valuer merely aggregates rather than determines enterprise-level Fair Value.