What is the legal definition of Additional Records for Taxation?

“Did you keep a record for tax purposes?”

Examples of Additional Records for Taxation

• The Tax Commissioner gives you written notice that you must keep specific records for tax purposes, and you don’t keep the records. The Tax Commissioner later asks for those records, and you don’t have them.
• The Tax Commissioner gives you written notice to keep certain records. You keep the records, but then soon dispose of them because you need more storage space.

Legislation

Elements of the offence

• The accused was required by a taxation law to keep a record or to cause a record to be kept.
• The accused was given a written notice by the Commissioner requiring them to keep, or to cause to be kept, additional records specified in the notice.
• The accused did not comply with the notice.

• The Tax Commissioner did not give written notice asking for records to be kept.
• You kept the required records.
• You lost the records, but you took reasonable precautions to prevent losing the records, and it was impossible to get a substitute records.

Questions in cases like this

• How do they prove that you had to keep a specific record?
• If your records were lost or destroyed, did you take reasonable precautions to prevent losing the records, and was it impossible to get substitute records?

The maximum penalty for Additional Records for Taxation (s51 of the Taxation Administraction Act 1997) is 500 penalty units ($77,730) in the case of a body corporate and 100 penalty units ($15,546) in any other case.

What can you be sentenced to for this charge?

Other Important Resources

• Taxation Administration: State Revue Office of Victoria