CH10100 - Record Keeping: Overview
A person must keep and maintain records in order to make a
correct and complete return or claim even if they don’t make
a return or claim every year. The person must retain these records
and supporting documents for a specified period.
As part of the review of powers undertaken following the
creation of HMRC, work has started on aligning the record-keeping
requirements for
- income tax
- capital gains tax
- corporation tax
- direct taxes claims not included in a return, and
- VAT.
Some changes will take effect from 1 April 2009.
These changes allow HMRC to
- make regulations to specify the records and supporting documents that must or that need not be kept
- reduce the period for which records must be kept in individual cases, and
- specify conditions and exceptions to the general rule that information instead of records may be preserved.
We may charge a penalty if a person fails to keep or retain records. There is no change to the existing penalty regimes.
