Auction houses and dealers must now set up administrative systems to deal with the levy and decide how it will be paid – by buyers, sellers or themselves.
Christie’s are the first of the big auction houses to set out how they will administer the levy, saying that they will charge buyers.
They say that by charging the buyer they hope to encourage collectors to continue to choose to sell in London rather than other sale locations where no such levy is incurred.
The new law has been introduced in the UK following a European Union Directive, and although there will be a grace period to allow systems to be put in place, liability for payment remains immediate and will have to be paid once the grace period is over.
The Design & Artists Copyright Society, who are the main body collecting payments in the UK, have set out guidelines on what art market professionals’ obligations are under the directive. DACS acknowledge that they may not have covered every aspect of concern and are inviting queries and suggestions for improving the guidelines.
The guidelines are available at: www.dacs.org.uk/arr
Valentine’s Day finally brings us Droit de Suite
Droit de Suite, the Artist’s Resale Right, finally came into force on February 14. It means that, subject to certain conditions, living artists are entitled to receive a royalty each time their art work is bought and sold via an art market professional.
