Section 60 – Concealing, destroying etc. documents following information notice
99.This section provides that a person in receipt of an information notice issued under section 30 or 31 must not conceal, destroy or dispose of a document to which the notice relates (subsection (1)). But a person may do so after the document has been produced to an authorised officer (but not if they have been told to continue to make the document available for inspection) (subsection (2)). In a case where section 33 applies (i.e. a person complies with an information notice by providing a copy of the document), the effect of subsection (3) is that a person is free to destroy or dispose of the original document to which the information notice relates, provided they do so at least 6 months after the copy of the document was produced (unless, before then, an authorised officer requests the original document under section 33(2)(b)). The penalty applying to an act of concealing, destroying or disposing of a document in contravention of this section is as determined by a relevant local authority (see section 56(2) and (3)).
