Finance Act 1996

2 (1) Regulations may require registrable persons to make records. U.K.

(2) Regulations under sub-paragraph (1) above may be framed by reference to such records as may be stipulated in any notice published by the Commissioners in pursuance of the regulations and not withdrawn by a further notice.

(3) Regulations may—

(a) require registrable persons to preserve records of a prescribed description (whether or not the records are required to be made in pursuance of regulations) for such period not exceeding six years as may be specified in the regulations;

(b) authorise the Commissioners to direct that any such records need only be preserved for a shorter period than that specified in the regulations;

(c) authorise a direction to be made so as to apply generally or in such cases as the Commissioners may stipulate.

(4) Any duty under regulations to preserve records may be discharged by the preservation of the information contained in them by such means as the Commissioners may approve; and where that information is so preserved a copy of any document forming part of the records shall (subject to the following provisions of this paragraph) be admissible in evidence in any proceedings, whether civil or criminal, to the same extent as the records themselves.

(5) The Commissioners may, as a condition of approving under sub-paragraph (4) above any means of preserving information contained in any records, impose such reasonable requirements as appear to them necessary for securing that the information will be as readily available to them as if the records themselves had been preserved.

(6) A statement contained in a document produced by a computer shall not by virtue of sub-paragraph (4) above be admissible in evidence—

(a) in criminal proceedings in England and Wales, except in accordance with F1 . . . and Part II of the M1 Criminal Justice Act 1988;

(b) in civil proceedings in Scotland, except in accordance with sections 5 and 6 of the M2 Civil Evidence (Scotland) Act 1988;

(c) in criminal proceedings in Scotland, except in accordance with Schedule 8 to the M3 Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995;

F2 (d) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(e) in criminal proceedings in Northern Ireland, except in accordance withArticle 68 of the M4 Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 and Part II of the M5 Criminal Justice (Evidence, Etc.) (Northern Ireland) Order 1988.

(7) In the case of civil proceedings in England and Wales to which sections 5 and 6 of the M6 Civil Evidence Act 1968 apply, a statement contained in a document produced by a computer shall not be admissible in evidence by virtue of sub-paragraph (4) above except in accordance with those sections.

Textual Amendments

F1 Words in Sch. 5 para. 2(6)(a) repealed (14.4.2000) by 1999 c. 23, s. 67, Sch. 6; S.I. 2000/1034, art. 2(c), Sch.

F2 Sch. 5 para. 2(6)(d) repealed (N.I.) (6.9.1999) by S.I. 1997/2983 (N.I. 21), art. 13(2), Sch. 2; S.R. 1999/339, art. 2

Marginal Citations

M1 1988 c. 33.

M2 1988 c. 32.

M3 1995 c. 46.

M4 S.I. 1989/1341 (N.I.12).

M5 S.I. 1988/1847 (N.I.17).

M6 1968 c. 64.