The Income Tax (Pay As You Earn) Regulations 2003

Inspection of PSA records

117.—(1) An authorised officer may require an employer who has entered into a PSA to produce all PSA records, or such PSA records as may be specified by the authorised officer, for inspection—

(a) at the prescribed place, and

(b) at such time as that officer may reasonably require.

(2) “PSA records” means all books, documents and other records relating to—

(a) the qualifying general earnings comprised in the PSA,

(b) the calculation of amounts for which the employer is accountable to the Board of Inland Revenue in accordance with the PSA, and

(c) the payment of those amounts to the Inland Revenue.

(3) “The prescribed place” means such place in the United Kingdom as the employer and the authorised officer may agree upon, or in the absence of agreement—

(a) the place in the United Kingdom at which the PSA records are normally kept, or

(b) if there is no such place, the employer’s principal place of business in the United Kingdom.

(4) The authorised officer may—

(a) take copies of, or make extracts from, any records produced for inspection in accordance with paragraph (1);

(b) remove any records so produced if the officer considers it necessary to do so, at a reasonable time and for a reasonable period.

(5) If any record is removed in accordance with paragraph (4)(b), the authorised officer must provide—

(a) a receipt for the record, and

(b) a copy of the record, free of charge, to the person by whom it was produced or caused to be produced, within 7 days of that person requesting a copy, if the record is reasonably required for the proper conduct of a business.

(6) If a lien is claimed on a record produced in accordance with paragraph (1), the removal of the document under paragraph (4)(b) is not to be regarded as breaking the lien.

(7) If records are maintained by computer, the person required to make them available for inspection must provide the authorised officer with all facilities necessary for obtaining information from them.

(8) An employer must keep PSA records for not less than 3 years after the end of the most recent tax year to which they relate.