Figure out frauds in antiquities trade

Thiruvananthapuram: Let's find out the frauds who claim that they possess the silver pieces of Judas and the staff of Moses. The artifacts and its sellers shall have the certificates issued by the Archaeological Survey of India (ASI). This certificate is provided by confirming the age and the value of the object.

The sales of the antiques shall abide by the Antiquities and Art Treasures Act of 1972 and the seller has to present the registration certificate during the trade. The traders should also get ASI accreditation and the buyers can purchase antiquities from them as per the laws.

After sale, the certificate will be entitled to the new owner. The application for this has to be submitted at the regional office of ASI in Thrissur. The source and other details of the antique must be provided with the application. 

Later, a committee of experts will examine the artifact and if they could not authenticate its age, the artifact will be handed over to a high level committee and confirm the age through various scientific methods. The owner can keep such antiques after the approval of the committee, but cannot sell outside the country. 

The smuggling of antiques to other countries has been banned. Even the objects made in the models of antiques are difficult to sell outside India. To obtain customs clearance for such objects, one has to provide a Non-Antique certificate of ASI.