(This archived guidance relates to HMRC discretionary
practice before the 6th April 2006. For current guidance on
Registered Pension Schemes see the Registered Pension Schemes
Manual)
You should consider weeding a file every time you work it,
and certainly if the file has become bulky.
Always look for any papers dated before 1999 as these may not
have previously weeded as a result of the introduction of off-file
working.
In deciding whether an item should be weeded, decide if it
contains information of long term value to us. If it does not, then
it can be either disposed of as confidential waste or, if not
confidential, used as scrap paper.
Once you have weeded a file, write at the top of the front
cover: “File weeded (date).”
A rough guide to what may or ought not to be weeded out is
contained in the following paragraphs.
