The GST Law has subsumed around 17 taxes. For the legacy taxes, now the final assessments are going on throughout the Country. These assessments are going to see a sunset soon and with the completion of these assessments, Trade & Industry will require to take a call as to the period for which they need to maintain their books of accounts.
In this article we have tried to compile the period of retention under most laws. Hope the same will be helpful in your professional sphere –
Preservation Of Accounts and Records Under the Erstwhile Laws
| Law | Period of retention | Relevant Provisions |
| Central Excise Law | 5 years immediately after the financial year to which such records pertain. | Rule 10 of Central Rules, 2002 |
| Service Tax Law | 5 years immediately after the financial year to which such records pertain | Rule 5(3) of the Service Tax Rules, 1994 |
| WB VAT | > 8 years from the expiry of the year to which they relate
> 4 years after the expiry of specified period mentioned in the certificate of eligibility if the dealer continues to enjoy deferment of tax under clause (a) of sub-section (1) of section 118 |
Rule 90 of the WB VAT Rules 2005 |
| Maharashtra VAT | 6 years from the expiry of the year to which they relate | Rule 68 of Maharashtra VAT Rules, 2005 |
| Karnataka VAT | 5 years after the end of the year to which they relate | Section 32 of the Karnataka VAT Act, 2003 |
| Kerala | > five years from the expiry of the year to which the assessment relates
> two year from the date of disposal of the appeal or revision arising out of such assessment or completion of any other proceeding under the Act connected with such assessment or appeal or revision |
Rule 58 of the Kerala VAT Rules, 2005 |
| Rajasthan VAT | 5 years excluding the year to which they relate | Section 71(5) of the Rajasthan VAT Act, 2003 |
| Orissa VAT | 5 years after the end of the year to which they relate | Section 62(5) of the Orissa Vat Act, 2005 |
| Punjab VAT | 6 years after the end of the year to which these relate | Section 44 of Punjab VAT Act |
| Tamil Nadu VAT | 5 years from the date of assessment | Rule 6(11) of the Tamil Nadu VAT Rules, 2007 |
| Tripura VAT | 5 years after the expiry of the year to which they relate | Rule 21(8) of Tripura VAT Rules, 2011 |
| Uttar Pradesh VAT | 8 years after expiration of the assessment year to which they relate. | Rule 39 of UP VAT Rules, 2010 |
| Uttarakhand VAT | 6 years after the close of the assessment year to which they relate | Section 61 of the Uttarakhand VAT Act, 2005 |
| Andhra Pradesh VAT | 6 years after the end of the year to which they relate | Section 42(4) of the Andhra Pradesh VAT Act, 2005 |
| Arunachal Pradesh VAT | 5 years after the conclusion of the events or transactions which they record | Section 49(6) of the Arunachal Pradesh VAT Act |
| Bihar VAT | 6 years after the end of the year to which they relate | Rule 33(9) of Bihar VAT Rules, 2005 |
| Chandigarh VAT | 6 years counted from the first day of the financial year following the financial year to which they pertain | Rule 58(3) of the Chandigarh VAT Rules, 2006 |
| Delhi VAT | 7 years after the conclusion of the events or transactions which they record | Section 48 of the Delhi VAT Act, 2004 |
| Gujarat VAT | 8 years from the end of the accounting year to which they relate | Section 64 of the Gujarat VAT Act, 2003 |
| Haryana VAT | 8 years after the close of the year to which such books relate | Section 29 of the Haryana VAT Act, 2003 |
| Himachal Pradesh VAT | 6 years counted from the first day of the financial year following the financial year to which they pertains | Rule 56(3) of Himachal Pradesh VAT Rules, 2005 |
| Jammu and Kashmir VAT | 8 years after the end of the year to which they relate | Rule 62(12) of the Jammu & Kashmir VAT Rules, 2005 |
| Jharkhand VAT | 5 years after the end of the year to which they relate | Section 60(9) of the Jharkhand VAT Act, 2005 |
***In addition of the above, the records shall be required to be preserved till such period as those may be required for final disposal of any appeal, review, revision or reference under the Act or for final disposal of any case pending before any Court or Tribunal.
PRESERVATION OF ACCOUNTS AND RECORDS UNDER THE EXISTING LAWS
| Act | Period of retention of accounts | Relevant Provisions of Law | Who is required to maintain |
| Goods and Services Tax | > 6 years from the due date of furnishing of annual return, or
> 1 year after final disposal of such appeal or revision or proceedings or investigation |
Section 36 of the CGST Act, 2017 | every registered person |
| Income Tax Law | > 6 years from the end of the relevant assessment year, or
> If the assessment is reopened under Section 147 of the Act, till the time assessment is completed. |
Rule 6F of the Income Tax Rules |
persons carrying on certain professions under section 44AA(3) |
| Income Tax Law | 8 years from the end of the relevant assessment year | Rule 10D of the Income Tax Rules |
every person who has entered into an international transaction or a specified domestic transaction |
| Company Law | 8 financial years immediately preceding a financial year | Section 128(5) of the Companies Act |
– |
| Company Law | The records shall not be disposed of without the prior permission of the Central Government. | Section 239 of the Companies Act, 2013 |
company which has been amalgamated with, or whose shares have been acquired by, another company |
| Company Law | for a period of 5 years from the date of its dissolution | Section 347 of the Companies Act 2013, |
a company which has been wound-up and of its liquidator |
| SEBI Guidelines | Minimum period of 5 years | Regulation 18 of SEBI (Stock Brokers & Sub- brokers) Regulations | every stock broker |
| SEBI Guidelines | Minimum period of 3 years | Regulation 15 of the SEBI (Registrars to an Issue and Share Transfer Agents) Regulations | the registrar to an issue or share transfer agent |
| SEBI Guidelines | Minimum period of 8 years | regulation 50 of the SEBI (Mutual Funds) Regulations |
every asset management company |
| Prevention of Money-Laundering Act | five years from the date of transaction | Section 12 of PMLA | transactions between the RE and the customer |
[Vivek Jalan is a Fellow Member of the Institute Of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) & a qualified LL.B. He is the member of The CII- Economic Affairs & Taxation Committee. He is the Co Chairman of The Indirect Tax Committee of The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry. He is also a visiting faculty for Indirect Taxes in The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Institute Of Chartered Accountants of India and Institute of Cost Accountants of India. He has 8 books on Taxation and has written more than 100 articles on varied Topics. He is regularly representing critical cases before the Hon’ble Tribunal and also is advising in representations before The Hon’ble High Courts in matters related to Taxation]
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TNVAT, records to be kept for 6 years.
TNVAT says six years from date of assessment.The last assessment was done in 2018 for 2017-2018 first quarter,now do we keep the records for six years for ever or are allowed to keep only records from the current date like incometax .When will we be allowed to eliminate the records for previous taxes like ED,ST and VAT
Very useful article.