 THE ANTIQUITIES AND ART TREASURES ACT, 1972                                                                                                                                       

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ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS                                                                                                            

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SECTIONS 

1. Short title, extent and commencement. 

2. Definitions. 

3. Regulation of export trade in antiquities and art treasures. 

4. Application of Act 52 of 1962. 

5. Antiquities to be sold only under a licence. 

6. Appointment of licensing officers. 

7. Application for licence. 

8. Grant of licence. 

9. Renewal of licence. 

10. Maintenance of records, photographs and registers by licensees. 

11. Revocation, suspension and amendment of licences. 

12. Persons whose licences have been revoked may sell antiquities to other licensees. 

13. Power of Central Government to carry on the business of selling antiquities to the exclusion 

of others. 

14. Registration of antiquities. 

15. Appointment of registering officers. 

16. Application for registration and grant of certificate of registration. 

17. Transfer of ownership, etc., of antiquities to be intimated to the registering officer. 

18. Provisions of sections 14, 16 and 17 not to apply in certain cases. 

19. Power of Central Government to compulsorily acquire antiquities and art treasures. 

20.  Payment  of  compensation  for  antiquities  and  art  treasures  compulsorily  acquired  under            

section 19. 

21. Appeals against decisions of licensing officers and registering officers. 

22. Appeals against awards of arbitrators. 

23. Powers of entry, search, seizure, etc. 

24. Power to determine whether or not an article, etc., is antiquity or art treasure. 

25. Penalty. 

26. Cognizance of offences. 

27. Magistrate’s power to impose enhanced penalties. 

28. Offences by companies. 

29. Protection of action taken in good faith. 

30. Application of other laws not barred. 

31. Power to make rules. 

32. Repeal. 

33. Amendment of Act 24 of 1958. 

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THE ANTIQUITIES AND ART TREASURES ACT, 1972 

ACT NO. 52 OF 1972 

[9th September, 1972.] 

An Act to regulate the export trade in antiquities and art treasures, to provide for the prevention 
of  smuggling  of,  and  fraudulent  dealings  in,  antiquities,  to  provide  for  the  compulsory 
acquisition of antiquities and art treasures for preservation in public places and to provide for 
certain other matters connected therewith or incidental or ancillary thereto. 

BE it enacted by Parliament in the Twenty-third Year of the Republic of India as follows:— 

1.  Short  title,  extent  and  commencement.—(1)  This  Act  may  be  called  the  Antiquities  and  Art 

Treasures Act, 1972. 

(2) It extends to the whole of India. 
(3)  It  shall  come  into  force  on  such  date1  as  the  Central  Government  may,  by  notification  in  the 
Official Gazette, appoint and different dates may be appointed for different provisions of this Act and for 
different  States  and  any  reference  in  any  such  provision  to  the  commencement  of  this  Act  shall  be 
construed as a reference to the coming into force of that provision. 

2. Definitions.—(1) In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires,— 

(a) “antiquity” includes— 

(1) (i) any coin, sculpture, painting, epigraph or other work of art or craftsmanship; 

(ii) any article, object or thing detached from a building or cave; 

(iii) any article, object or thing illustrative of science, art, crafts, literature, religion, customs, 

morals or politics in bygone ages; 

(iv) any article, object or thing of historical interest; 

(v)  any  article,  object  or  thing  declared  by  the  Central  Government,  by  notification  in  the 
Official Gazette, to be an antiquity for the purposes of this Act, which has been in existence for 
not less than one hundred years; and 

(II)  any  manuscript,  record  or  other  document  which  is  of  scientific,  historical,  literary  or 

aesthetic value and which has been in existence for not less than seventy-five years; 

(b) “art treasure” means any human work of art, not being an antiquity, declared by the Central 
Government by notification in the Official Gazette, to be an art treasure for the purposes of this Act 
having regard to its artistic or aesthetic value: 

Provided that no declaration under this clause shall be made in respect of any such work of art so 

long as the author thereof is alive; 

(c) “export” means taking out of India to a place outside India; 

(d) “licensing officer” means an officer appointed as such under section 6; 

(e) “registering officer” means an officer appointed as such under section 15; 

(f) “prescribed” means prescribed by rules made under this Act. 

(2) Any reference in this Act to any law which is not In force in any area shall, in relation to that area, 

be construed as a reference to the corresponding law, if any, in force in that area. 

1. 5th April, 1976, vide notification No. G.S.R. 279(E), dated 5th April, 1976, (except the State of Sikkim), see Gazette of 

India, Part II, sec. 3(i). 
1st  June,  1979,  vide  notification  No.  G.S.R.  312(E),  dated  15th  May,  1979  [in  respect  of  the  State  of  Sikkim,  the 
provisions of ss. 2, 3, 4, 19, 20, 22, 24, sub-section (1) of s. 25, sub-section (1) of s. 26 and ss. 27, 28, 29, 30 and 31], see 
Gazette of India, Part II, sec. 3(i). 

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3.  Regulation  of  export  trade  in  antiquities  and  art  treasures.—(1)  On  and  from  the 
commencement of this Act, it shall not be lawful for any person, other than the Central  Government or 
any authority or agency authorized by the Central Government in this behalf, to export any antiquity or 
art treasure. 

(2)  Whenever  the  Central  Government  or  any  authority  or  agency  referred  to  in  sub-section  (1) 
intends to  export  any  antiquity  or  art  treasure  such  export  shall be  made  only under and in  accordance 
with the terms and conditions of a permit issued for the purpose by such authority as may be prescribed. 

4.  Application  of  Act  52  of  1962.—The  Customs  Act,  1962,  shall  have  effect  in  relation  to  all 
antiquities and art treasures, the export of which by any person (other than the Central Government or any 
authority or agency authorized by the Central Government) is prohibited under section 3 save in so far as 
that  Act  is  inconsistent  with  the  provisions  of  this  Act  and  except  that  (notwithstanding  anything 
contained in section 125 of that Act) any confiscation authorized under that Act shall be made unless the 
Central Government on an application made to it in this behalf, otherwise directs. 

5.  Antiquities  to  be  sold  only  under  a  licence.—1[As  from  the  date  of  expiry  of  a  period  of  six 
months  from  the  commencement  of  this  Act]  no  person  shall,  himself  or  by  any  other  person  on  his 
behalf, carry on the business of selling or offering to sell any antiquity except under and in accordance 
with the terms and conditions of a licence granted under section 8. 

Explanation.—In this section and in sections 7, 8, 12, 13, 14, 17 and 18 “antiquity” does not include 
ancient  and  historical  records  other  than  those  declared  by  or  under  law  made  by  Parliament,  to  be  of 
national importance. 

6. Appointment of licensing officers.—The Central Government may, by notified order,— 

(a) appoint such persons, being gazetted officers of Government, as it thinks fit, to be licensing 

officers for the purposes of this Act; 

(b)  define  the  limits  of  the  area  within  which  a  licensing  officer  shall  exercise  the  powers 

conferred on licensing officers by or under this Act. 

7. Application for licence.—(1) Any person desiring to carry on, himself or by any other person on 
his behalf, the business of selling or offering to sell antiquities may make an application for the grant of a 
licence to the licensing officer having jurisdiction. 

(2)  Every  application  under  sub-section  (1)  shall  be  made  in  such  form  and  shall  contain  such 

particulars as may be prescribed. 

8. Grant of licence.—(1) On receipt of an application for the grant of a licence under section 7, the 
licensing officer may, after holding such inquiry as he deems fit, grant a licence to the applicant having 
regard to the following factors, namely:— 

(a) the experience of the applicant with respect to trade in antiquities; 

(b) the village, town or city where the applicant intends to carry on business; 

(c)  the  number  of  persons  already  engaged  in  the  business  of  selling,  or  offering  for  sale  of, 

antiquities in the said village, town or city; and 

(d) such other factors as may be prescribed: 

Provided  that  no  licence  shall  be  granted  to  the  applicant  if  he  is  convicted  of  an  offence 
punishable under the Antiquities (Export Control) Act, 1947 (31 of 1947) unless a period of ten years 
has elapsed since the date of the conviction. 

(2) Every licence granted under this section shall be on payment of such fees as may be prescribed. 

(3) Every licence granted under this section shall be for such period, subject to such conditions and in 

such form and shall contain such particulars, as may be prescribed. 

1. Subs. by Act 82 of 1976, s. 2, for “On and from the expiry of a period of two months of the commencement of this Act” 

(w.e.f. 4-6-1976). 

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(4)  No  application  for  the  grant  of  a  licence  made  under  section  7  shall  be  rejected  unless  the 

applicant has been given a reasonable opportunity of being heard in the matter. 

9. Renewal of licence.—(1) A licence granted under section 8 may, on an application made by the 
licensee,  be  renewed  by  the  licensing  officer  for  such  period  and  on  payment  of  such  fees  as  may  be 
prescribed. 

(2)  No  application  made  under  this  section  shall  be  rejected  unless  the  applicant  has  been  given  a 

reasonable opportunity of being heard in the matter. 

10.  Maintenance  of  records,  photographs  and  registers  by  licensees.—(1)  Every  holder  of  a 
licence granted under section 8 or renewed under section 9 shall maintain such records, photographs and 
registers, in such manner and containing such particulars, as may be prescribed. 

(2)  Every  record,  photograph  and  register  maintained  under  sub-section  (1)  shall,  at  all  reasonable 
times,  be  open  to  inspection  by  the  licensing  officer  or  by  any  other  gazetted  officer  of  Government 
authorised in writing by the licensing officer in this behalf. 

11.  Revocation,  suspension  and  amendment  of  licences.—(1)  If  the  licensing  officer  is  satisfied 

either on a reference made to him in this behalf or otherwise that— 

(a)  a  licence  granted  under  section  8  has  been  obtained  by  misrepresentation  of  an  essential     

fact, or 

 (b) the  holder  of  a licence  has,  without reasonable  cause, failed to  comply  with  the  conditions 
subject to which the licence has been granted or has contravened any of the provisions of this Act or 
the rules made thereunder, 

then, without prejudice to any other penalty to which the holder of the licence may be liable under this 
Act,  the  licensing  officer  may,  after  giving  the  holder  of  the  licence  an  opportunity  of  showing  cause, 
revoke or suspend the licence. 

(2) Subject to any rules that may be made in this behalf, the licensing officer may also vary or amend 

a licence granted under section 8. 

12.  Persons  whose 

licences  have  been  revoked  may 

sell  antiquities 

to  other                  

licensees.—Notwithstanding anything contained in section 5, any person whose licence has been revoked 
under section 11 may, after making a declaration before the licensing officer, within such period, in such 
form  and  in  such  manner,  as  may  be  prescribed,  of  all  the  antiquities  in  his  ownership,  control  or 
possession immediately before such revocation, sell such antiquities to any other person holding a valid 
licence under this Act: 

Provided that no such antiquity shall be sold after the expiry of a period of six months from the date 

of revocation of the licence. 

13. Power of Central Government to carry on the business of selling antiquities to the exclusion 
of others.—(1) If the Central Government is of opinion that with a view to conserving antiquities or in 
the  public  interest  it  is  necessary  or  expedient  so  to do,  it  may,  by  notification  in  the  Official  Gazette, 
declare  that  with  effect  on  and  from  such  date  as  may  be  specified  in  the  notification,  the  Central 
Government or any authority or agency authorised by the  Central Government in this behalf shall alone 
be entitled to carry on the business of selling or offering for sale of antiquities. 

(2) On the issue of a notification under sub-section (1),— 

(a) it shall not be lawful for any person, authority or agency, other than the Central Government 
or any authority or agency authorized by the Central Government, to carry on the business of selling 
or offering for sale any antiquity on and from the date specified therein; 

(b) the provisions of this Act, in so far as they relate to the licensing of persons carrying on the 
business  of  selling  or  offering  for  sale  of  antiquities  shall  cease  to  have  effect  except  as  respects 
things  done  or  omitted  to  be  done  before  such  cesser  of  operation  and  section  6  of  the  General 
Clauses Act, 1897 (10 of 1897) shall apply upon such cesser of operation as if those provisions had 
been repealed by a Central Act: 

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Provided  that  every  licence  granted  under  section  8  and  in  force  on  the  date  aforesaid  shall, 

notwithstanding that the period specified therein has not expired, cease to be in force. 

(3)  Every  person  whose  licence  has  ceased  to  be  in  force  under  the  proviso  to  clause  (b)  of            

sub-section (2) shall, within such period, in such form and in such manner as may be prescribed, make a 
declaration  before  the  licensing  officer  of  all  the  antiquities  in  his  ownership,  control  or  possession 
immediately before the date specified in the notification issued under sub-section (1). 

14.  Registration  of  antiquities.—(1)  The  Central  Government  may,  from  time  to  time,  by 

notification in the Official Gazette, specify those antiquities which shall be registered under this Act. 

(2) In specifying the antiquities under sub-section (1), the Central Government shall have regard  to 

the following factors, namely:— 

(i) the necessity for conserving the objects of art; 

(ii)  the  need  to  preserve  such  objects  within  India  for  the  better  appreciation  of  the  cultural 

heritage of India; 

(iii)  such  other  factors  as  will,  or  are  likely  to,  contribute  to  the  safeguarding  of  the  cultural 

heritage of India. 

(3) Every person who owns, controls or is in possession of any antiquity specified in the notification 

issued under sub-section (1) shall register such antiquity before the registering officer— 

(a) in the case of a person who owns, controls or possesses such antiquity on the date of issue of 

such notification, within three months of such date; and 

(b)  in  the  case  of  any  other  person,  within  fifteen  days  of  the  date  on  which  he  comes  into 

ownership, control or possession of such antiquity, 

and obtain a certificate in token of such registration. 

15. Appointment of registering officers.—The Central Government may, by notified order,— 

(a) appoint such persons, as it thinks fit, to be registering officers for the purposes of this Act; and 

(b)  define  the  limits  of  the  area  within  which  a  registering  officer  shall  exercise  the  powers 

conferred on registering officers by or under this Act. 

16.  Application  for  registration  and  grant  of  certificate  of  registration.—(1)  Every  person 
required to register any antiquity before the registering officer under section 14 shall make an application 
to the registering officer for the grant of a certificate of registration. 

(2)  Every  application  under  sub-section  (1)  1[shall,  in  the  case  of  such  antiquities  or  class  of 
antiquities  as  the  Central  Government  may,  by  notification  in  the  Official  Gazette,  specify,  be 
accompanied]  by  such  photographs  of  the  antiquity  which  is  to  be  registered  and  by  such  number  of 
copies, not exceeding six, as may be prescribed and shall be made in such form and shall contain such 
particulars as may be prescribed. 

(3) On receipt of an application under sub-section (1), the registering officer may, after holding such 
inquiry as he deems fit, grant a certificate of registration containing such particulars as may be prescribed. 

(4)  No  application  made  under  this  section  shall  be  rejected  unless  the  applicant  has  been  given  a 

reasonable opportunity of being heard in the matter. 

17.  Transfer  of  ownership,  etc.,  of  antiquities  to  be 

intimated  to  the  registering                

officer.—Whenever any person transfers the ownership, control or possession of any antiquity specified 
in  any  notification  issued  under  sub-section  (1)  of  section  14  such  person  shall  intimate,  within  such 
period and in such form as may be prescribed, the fact of such transfer to the registering officer. 

1. Subs. by Act 82 of 1976, s. 3, for “shall be accompanied” (w.e.f. 4-6-1976). 

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18. Provisions of sections 14, 16 and 17 not to apply in certain cases.—Nothing in section 14 or 

section 16 or section 17 shall apply to any antiquity kept— 

(i) in a museum; or 

(ii) in an office; or 

(iii) in an archive; or 

(iv) in an educational or cultural institution, 

owned, controlled or managed by the Government 1[or by any local authority or by any such body as the 
Central Government may, for reasons to be recorded in writing, approve for the purpose of this section by 
general or special order]. 

19. Power of Central Government to compulsorily acquire antiquities and art treasures.—(1) If 
the  Central  Government  is  of  opinion  that  it  is  desirable  to  preserve  any  antiquity  or  art  treasure  in  a 
public place, that Government may make an order for the compulsory acquisition of such antiquity or art 
treasure. 

(2)  On  the  making  of  an  order  under  sub-section  (1)  the  Collector  of  the  district  in  which  such 
antiquity or art treasure is kept shall give notice to the owner thereof intimating him of the decision of the 
Central Government to acquire the same and it shall be lawful for the Collector to take possession of such 
antiquity or art treasure, for which purpose the Collector may use such force as may be necessary. 

(3) Where the owner of any antiquity or art treasure the possession of which has been taken over by 
the Collector under sub-section (2) objects to the taking over of such possession, he may, within a period 
of  thirty  days  from  the  date  on  which  such  possession  was  taken  over,  make  a  representation  to  the 
Central Government putting forth his objections: 

Provided  that  the  Central  Government  may  entertain  the  representation  after  the  expiry  of  the  said 
period  of thirty  days,  if it is satisfied that the  owner of  such  antiquity  or art treasure  was  prevented  by 
sufficient cause from making the representation in time. 

(4) On receipt of any representation under sub-section (3), the Central Government, after making such 
inquiry as it deems fit and after giving to the objector an opportunity of being heard in the matter, shall, 
within a period of ninety days from the date of receipt of the representation, either rescind or confirm the 
order made by it under sub-section (1). 

(5)  Where  any  order  made  by  the  Central  Government  under  sub-section  (1)  is  rescinded  under     

sub-section (4) the antiquity or art treasure shall be returned to the owner thereof without delay and at the 
expense of the Central Government. 

(6)  Where  the  order  made  by  the  Central  Government  under  sub-section  (1)  is  confirmed  under     

sub-section (4) the antiquity or art treasure shall vest in the Central Government with effect from the date 
on which the possession thereof has been taken over by the Collector under sub-section (2). 

(7)  The  power  of  compulsory  acquisition  conferred  by  this  section  shall  not  extend  to  any  object, 

being an antiquity or art treasure, used for bona fide religious observances. 

Explanation.—In this section, “public place” means any place which is open to the use of the public, 

whether on payment of fees or not, or whether it is actually used by the public or not. 

20.  Payment  of  compensation  for  antiquities  and  art  treasures  compulsorily  acquired  under         

section 19.—(1) Where any antiquity or art treasure is compulsorily acquired under section 19, there shall 
be paid compensation, the amount of which shall be determined in the manner and in accordance with the 
principles hereinafter set out, that is to say,— 

(a) where the amount of compensation can be fixed by agreement, it shall be paid in accordance 

with such agreement; 

1. Ins. by Act 82 of 1976, s. 4 (w.e.f. 4-6-1976). 

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(b) where no such agreement can be reached, the Central Government shall appoint as arbitrator a 

person who is, or has been, or is qualified for appointment as, a Judge of a High Court; 

(c)  the  Central  Government  may,  in  any  particular  case,  nominate  a  person  having  expert 
knowledge  as  to  the  nature  of  the  antiquity  or  art  treasure  compulsorily  acquired  to  assist  the 
arbitrator and where such nomination is made, the person to be compensated may also nominate an 
assessor for the same purpose; 

(d) at the commencement  of the proceedings before the arbitrator, the Central Government and 
the  person  to  be  compensated  shall  state  what,  in  their  respective  opinion,  is  a  fair  amount  of 
compensation; 

(e)  the  arbitrator  shall,  after  hearing  the  dispute,  make  an  award  determining  the  amount  of 
compensation  which  appears  to  him  to  be  just  and  specifying  the  person  or  persons  to  whom  such 
compensation shall be paid and in making the award he shall have regard to the circumstances of each 
case and the provisions of sub-section (2); 

(f) where there is any dispute as to the person or persons who are entitled to the compensation, the 
arbitrator shall decide such dispute and if the arbitrator finds that more persons than one are entitled 
to compensation, he shall apportion the amount thereof amongst such persons; 

(g) nothing in the Arbitration Act, 1940 (10 of 1940) shall apply to arbitration under this section. 

(2) While determining the compensation under sub-section (1), the arbitrator shall have regard to the 

following factors, namely:— 

(i) the date or the period to which the antiquity or art treasure belongs; 

(ii) the artistic, aesthetic, historical, architectural, archaeological or anthropological importance of 

the antiquity or art treasure; 

(iii) the rarity of the antiquity or art treasure; 

(iv) such other matters as are relevant to the dispute. 

(3) The arbitrator  appointed  under  sub-section  (1),  while  holding  arbitration  proceedings  under this 
section,  shall  have  all  the  powers  of  a  Civil  Court,  while  trying  a  suit,  under  the  Code  of  Civil    
Procedure, 1908 (5 of 1908), in respect of the following matters, namely:— 

(a) summoning and enforcing the attendance of any person and examining him on oath; 

(b) requiring the discovery and production of any document; 

(c) reception of evidence on affidavits; 

(d) requisitioning any public record from any court or office; 

(e) issuing commissions for the examination of witnesses. 

21.  Appeals  against  decisions  of  licensing  officers  and  registering  officers.—(1)  Any  person 
aggrieved by a decision of a licensing officer under section 8 or section 9 or section 11 or by a decision of 
a  registering  officer  under  section  16  may,  within  thirty  days  from  the  date  on  which  the  decision  is 
communicated to him, prefer an appeal to such authority as may be prescribed: 

Provided that the appellate authority  may entertain the appeal after the expiry of the said period of 
thirty days, if it is satisfied that the appellant was prevented by sufficient cause from filing the appeal in 
time. 

(2)  On  receipt  of  an  appeal  under  sub-section  (1),  the  appellate  authority  shall,  after  giving  the 

appellant an opportunity of being heard, pass such orders as it deems fit. 

22.  Appeals  against  awards  of  arbitrators.—Any  person  aggrieved  by  an  award  of  the  arbitrator 
made under section 20 may, within thirty days from the date on which the award is communicated to him, 
prefer an appeal to the High Court within whose jurisdiction he resides: 

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Provided that the High Court may entertain the appeal after the expiry of the said period of thirty days 

if it is satisfied that the appellant was prevented by a sufficient cause from filing the appeal in time. 

23.  Powers  of  entry,  search,  seizure,  etc.—(1)  Any  person,  being  an  officer  of  Government, 
authorized in this behalf by the Central Government, may, with a view to securing compliance with the 
provisions of this Act or to satisfying himself that the provisions of this Act have been complied with— 

(i) enter and search any place; 

(ii) seize any antiquity or art treasure in respect of which he suspects that any provision of this 
Act has been, is being, or is about to be, contravened and thereafter take all measures necessary for 
securing the production of the antiquity or art treasure so seized in a court and for its safe custody, 
pending such production. 

(2)  The  provisions  of  sections  102  and  103  of  the  Code  of  Criminal  Procedure,  1898  (5  of  1898) 

relating to search and seizure shall, so far as may be, apply to searches and seizures under this section. 

24.  Power  to  determine  whether  or  not  an  article,  etc.,  is  antiquity  or  art  treasure.—If  any 
question arises whether any article, object or thing or manuscript, record or other document is or is not an 
antiquity  or  is  or  is  not  an  art  treasure  for  the  purposes  of  this  Act,  it  shall  be  referred  to  the  Director 
General,  Archaeological  Survey  of  India,  or  to  an  officer  not  below  the  rank  of  a  Director  in  the 
Archaeological Survey of India authorized by the Director General,  Archaeological Survey of India and 
the decision of the Director General, Archaeological Survey of India or such officer, as the case may be, 
on such question shall be final. 

25. Penalty.—(1) If any person, himself or by any other person on his behalf, exports or attempts to 
export  any  antiquity  or  art  treasure  in  contravention  of  section  3,  he  shall,  without  prejudice  to  any 
confiscation  or  penalty 
Act, 1962 (52 of 1962) as applied by section 4, be punishable with imprisonment for a term which shall 
not be less than six months but which may extend to three years and with fine. 

to  which  he  may  be 

the  provisions  of 

liable  under 

the  Customs                           

(2)  If  any  person  contravenes  the  provisions  of  section  5  or  section  12  or  sub-section  (2)  or              

sub-section (3) of section 13 or section 14 or section 17, he shall be punishable with imprisonment for a 
term which may extend to six months or with fine or with both and the antiquity in respect of which the 
offence has been committed shall be liable to confiscation. 

(3)  if  any  person  prevents  any  licensing  officer  from  inspecting  any  record,  photograph  or  register 
maintained  under  section  10  or  prevents  any  officer  authorized  by  the  Central  Government  under         
sub-section (1) of section 23 from entering into or searching any place under that sub-section, he shall be 
punishable with imprisonment for a term which may extend to six months, or with fine, or with both. 

26. Cognizance of offences.—(1) No prosecution for an offence under sub-section (1) of section 25 
shall be instituted except by or with the sanction of such officer of Government as may be prescribed in 
this behalf. 

(2) No court shall take cognizance of an offence punishable under sub-section (2) or sub-section (3) 
of section 25 except upon complaint in writing made by an officer generally or specially authorized in this 
behalf by the Central Government. 

(3) No court inferior to that of a Presidency Magistrate or a Magistrate of the First Class shall try any 

offence punishable under this Act. 

27.  Magistrate’s  power  to  impose  enhanced  penalties.—Notwithstanding  anything  contained  in 
section  32  of  the  Code  of  Criminal  Procedure,  1898  (5  of  1898),  it  shall  be  lawful  for  any  Presidency 
Magistrate or any Magistrate of the First Class to pass any sentence under this Act in excess of his power 
under section 32 of the said Code. 

28.  Offences  by  companies.—(1)  Where  an  offence  under  this  Act  has  been  committed  by  a 
company, every person who at the time the offence was committed was in charge of, or was responsible 
to, the company for the conduct of the business of the company, as well as the company, shall be deemed 
to be guilty of the offence and shall be liable to be proceeded against and punished accordingly: 

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Provided  that  nothing  contained  in  this  sub-section  shall  render  any  such  person  liable  to  any 
punishment under this Act if he proves that the offence was committed without his knowledge or that he 
exercised all due diligence to prevent the commission of such offence. 

(2) Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-section (1), where an offence under this Act has been 
committed with the consent or connivance of, or is attributable to, any neglect on the part of any director, 
manager, secretary or other officer of the company, such director, manager, secretary or other officer shall 
also  be  deemed  to  be  guilty  of  that  offence  and  shall  be  liable  to  be  proceeded  against  and  punished 
accordingly. 

Explanation.—For the purpose of this section,— 

(a)  “company”  means  any  body  corporate  and  includes  a  firm  or  other  association  of    

individuals; and 

(b) “director”, in relation to a firm, means a partner in the firm. 

29. Protection of action taken in good faith.—No suit, prosecution or other legal proceeding shall 
lie against the Government or any officer of the Government for anything which is in good faith done or 
is intended to be done under this Act. 

30. Application of other laws not barred.—The provisions of this Act shall be in addition to, and 
not in derogation of, the provisions of the Ancient Monuments Preservation Act, 1904 (7 of 1904) or the 
Ancient Monuments and Archaeological Sites and Remains Act, 1958 (24 of 1958), or any other law for 
the time being in force. 

31. Power to make rules.—(1) The Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, 

make rules for the purpose of giving effect to the provisions of this Act. 

(2)  In  particular  and  without  prejudice  to  the  generality  of  the  foregoing  power,  such  rules  may 

provide for— 

(a) the authority for issue of permit under sub-section (2) of section 3; 

(b) the form in which an application for the grant of a licence may be made under sub-section (1) 

of section 7 and the particulars which such application shall contain; 

(c)  the  factors  to  which  regard  may  be  had  while  granting  a  licence  under  sub-section  (1)  of 

section 8; 

(d) the fees on payment of which, the period for which, the conditions subject to which and the 
form in which a licence may be granted under sub-section (1) of section 8 and the particulars which 
such licence shall contain; 

(e)  the  fees  on  payment  of  which  and  the  period  for  which  a  licence  may  be  renewed  under      

sub-section (1) of section 9; 

(f)  the  records,  photographs  and  registers  which  are  to  be  maintained  under  section  10  and  the 
manner  in  which  such  records,  photographs  and  registers  shall  be  maintained  and  the  particulars 
which such records, photographs and registers shall contain; 

(g) the nature of the photographs of the antiquity and the number of copies thereof which shall 

accompany  an  application  for  the  grant  of  a  certificate  of  registration  to  be  made  under                   
sub-section (1) of section 16 and the form in which such application may be made and the particulars 
which such application shall contain; 

(h) the particulars which a certificate of registration granted under sub-section (3) of section 16 

shall contain; 

(i) the authority to which an appeal may be preferred under sub-section (1) of section 21; and 

(j) any other matter which has to be or may be prescribed. 

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(3)  Every  rule  made  under  this  Act  shall  be  laid,  as  soon  as  may  be  after  it  is  made,  before  each 
House of Parliament while it is in session for a total period of thirty days which may be comprised in one 
session  or  in  two  or  more  successive  sessions,  and  if,  before  the  expiry  of  the  session  immediately 
following the session or the successive sessions aforesaid, both Houses agree in making any modification 
in the rule or both Houses agree that the rule should not be made, the rule shall thereafter have effect only 
in such modified form or be of no effect, as the case may be; so, however, that any such modification or 
annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule. 

32. Repeal.—(1) The Antiquities (Export Control) Act, 1947 (3 of 1947) is hereby repealed. 

(2) For the removal of doubts it is hereby declared that every licence issued under section 3 of the Act 
repealed under sub-section (1) and in force at the commencement of this Act shall, notwithstanding that 
the period specified therein has not expired, cease to be in force. 

33.  Amendment  of  Act  24  of  1958.—In  the  Ancient  Monuments  and  Archaeological  Sites  and 

Remains Act, 1958,— 

(i) in section 1, for sub-section (2), the following sub-section shall be substituted, namely:— 

“(2) It extends to the whole of India.”; 

(ii) after section 2, the following section shall be inserted, namely:— 

“2A.  Construction  of  references  to  any  law  not  in  force  in  the  State  of  Jammu  and 
Kashmir*.—Any reference in this Act to any law which is not in force in the State of Jammu and 
Kashmir* shall, in relation to that State, be construed as a reference to the corresponding law, if 
any, in force in that State.”; 

(iii) in section 23,— 

(a) in sub-sections (2) and (4), for the words “compulsory purchase”, the words “compulsory 

acquisition” shall be substituted; 

(b)  in  sub-section  (3),  for  the  words  “compulsory  purchase  of  any  such  antiquities  at  their 

market value”, the words “compulsory acquisition of any such antiquities” shall be substituted; 

(iv) in section 26,— 

(a)  in  sub-section  (1),  for  the  words  “compulsory  purchase  of  such  antiquity  at  its  market 
value”,  the  words  “compulsory  acquisition  of  such  antiquity”  and  for  the  words  “to  be 
purchased”, the words “to be acquired” shall be substituted; 

(b) in sub-sections (2) and (3), for the words “compulsory purchase”, the words “compulsory 

acquisition” shall be substituted; 

(v) in section 28, for sub-section (2), the following sub-section shall be substituted, namely:— 

“(2)  For  every  antiquity  in  respect  of  which  an  order  for  compulsory  acquisition  has  been 
made  under  sub-section  (3)  of  section  23  or  under  sub-section  (1)  of  section  26,  there  shall  be 
paid compensation and the provisions of sections 20 and 22 of the Antiquities and Art Treasures       
Act,  1972  shall,  so  far  as  may  be,  apply  in  relation  to  the  determination  and  payment  of  such 
compensation as they apply in relation to the determination and payment of compensation for any 
antiquity or art treasure compulsorily acquired under section 19 of that Act.”. 

*. Vide notification No. S.O. 3912(E), dated 30th October, 2019, this Act is made applicable to the Union territory of Jammu and 
Kashmir and the Union territory of Ladakh. 

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