Law, crime and regulation

The UK art and antiques trade is calling for an overhaul of the “archaic and regressive system” of business rates and dismissed the Budget rates relief announcement as “too little too late”.

MADAM – Responding to your article in ATG No 2365 ('UK salerooms 'not aware' of new laws on deactivated firearms'), I felt compelled to write in.

The National Ballistics and Intelligence Service (NABIS) has warned of a rise in defectively deactivated firearms offered at auction since the law changed this summer.

An amendment to the ivory bill raised in the House of Lords will limit the powers of accredited civilian officers.

MADAM – We have a once fine upright piano in our salerooms, sadly rejected now at three successive sales.

New figures obtained by the BADA reveal that piano keys represent the vast majority of ivory items exported from the UK in the past three calendar years.

Auction house told it must improve the way it advertises extra sale charges and taxes

The case of Russian billionaire businessman Dmitry Rybolovlev versus dealer Yves Bouvier highlights a widespread problem in the art world: the definition of the role of agent.

Dealer body BADA have called for a tougher stance in the run-up to wildlife conference.

Collectors and sellers of antique ivory are being told that the ivory ban is unlikely to become law before spring 2019, a longer lead-time than originally thought.

MADAM – I reply to the letter from Louise Ravula and Jane Alexandra (ATG No 2359) on a number of points they made about the antiques industry's attitude to the forthcoming ivory ban.