SAM106050 – Records: bankruptcy: disposal of bankrupt’s records by the official receiver

The SA legislation includes a requirement that records of business taxpayers be kept for a period of 5 years from the normal filing date of the SA return to which they relate. However, to alleviate the burden on Official Receivers, HMRC has agreed a clearance procedure with the Insolvency Service. This agreement will, in most cases, allow an Official Receiver to dispose of records much sooner than would otherwise be the case.

Where an Official Receiver wishes to dispose of records of a bankrupt individual earlier than permitted by statute

• He or she will issue, as a clearance application, a standard ‘Destruction of Records’ letter to the office with responsibility for Processing work
• The clearance application must be considered by an Inspector promptly, in conjunction with all available information, to determine whether there is prospect of an enquiry for the period to which the records relate
• Where there is prospect of an enquiry for the period to which the records relate, the tear off slip must be returned to the Official Receiver within 3 months of the issue date of the letter
• Where there is no prospect of an enquiry for the period to which the records relate, no action need be taken. The Official Receiver will destroy the records after 3 months have elapsed since issue of the letter