Finance Act 1994

Records for purposes of returns

3 After section 12A of the Management Act there shall be inserted the following section—

“Records

12B Records to be kept for purposes of returns

(1) Any person who may be required by a notice under section 8, 8A, 11 or 12AA of this Act (or under any of those sections as extended by section 12 of this Act) to make and deliver a return for a year of assessment or other period shall—

(a) keep all such records as may be requisite for the purpose of enabling him to make and deliver a correct and complete return for the year or period; and

(b) preserve those records until the end of whichever of the following is the later, namely—

(i) the day mentioned in subsection (2) below; and

(ii) where a return delivered by him is enquired into by an officer of the Board, the day on which, by virtue of section 28A(5) or 28B(5) of this Act, the officer’s enquiries are treated as completed.

(2) The day referred to in subsection (1) above is—

(a) in the case of a person carrying on a trade, profession or business alone or in partnership or a company, the fifth anniversary of the 31st January next following the year of assessment or (as the case may be) the sixth anniversary of the end of the period;

(b) in any other case, the first anniversary of the 31st January next following the year of assessment or, where a return is delivered by the person concerned after that date, the quarter day next following the first anniversary of the day on which the return is delivered;

and the quarter days for the purposes of this subsection are 31st January, 30th April, 31st July and 31st October.

(3) In the case of a person carrying on a trade, profession or business alone or in partnership—

(a) the records required to be kept and preserved under subsection (1) above shall include records of the following, namely—

(i) all amounts received and expended in the course of the trade, profession or business and the matters in respect of which the receipts and expenditure take place, and

(ii) in the case of a trade involving dealing in goods, all sales and purchases of goods made in the course of the trade; and

(b) the duty under that subsection shall include a duty to preserve until the day mentioned in subsection (2) above all supporting documents relating to such items as are mentioned in paragraph (a)(i) or (ii) above.

(4) The duty under subsection (1) above to preserve records may be discharged by the preservation of the information contained in them; and where information is so preserved a copy of any document forming part of the records shall be admissible in evidence in any proceedings before the Commissioners to the same extent as the records themselves.

(5) Any person who fails to comply with subsection (1) above in relation to a year of assessment or accounting period shall be liable to a penalty not exceeding £3,000.

(6) For the purposes of this section—

(a) a person engaged in the letting of property shall be treated as carrying on a trade; and

(b) “supporting documents” includes accounts, books, deeds, contracts, vouchers and receipts.”