Finance Act 1994

Records U.K.

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

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such records as may be specified in any notice published by the Commissioners in pursuance of the regulations and not withdrawn by a further notice.

(3) Regulations may require any records kept in pursuance of the regulations to be preserved for such period not exceeding six years as may be specified in the regulations.

(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—

F1 (a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

F2 (b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(c) in civil proceedings in Scotland, except in accordance with sections 5 and 6 of the M1 Civil Evidence (Scotland) Act 1988;

(d) in criminal proceedings in Scotland, except in accordance with [F3 Schedule 8 to the Criminal Procedure (Scotland) Act 1995];

(e) in civil proceedings in Northern Ireland, except in accordance with sections 2 and 3 of the M2 Civil Evidence Act (Northern Ireland) 1971;

(f) [F4 in criminal proceedings in Northern Ireland, except in accordance with Article 68 of the M3 Police and Criminal Evidence (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 and Part II of the M4 Criminal Justice (Evidence, Etc.) (Northern Ireland) Order 1988.]

Textual Amendments

F1 Sch. 7 para. 1(6)(a) repealed (31.1.1997) by 1995 c. 38, s. 15(2), Sch. 2 (with ss. 1(3), 6)(4)(5), 14); S.I. 1996/3217, art. 2

F2 Sch. 7 para. 1(6)(b) repealed (4.4.2005) by Criminal Justice Act 2003 (c. 44), s. 336(3)(4), Sch. 37 Pt. 6; S.I. 2005/950, art. 2(1), Sch. 1 para. 44(3) (with Sch. 2) (as explained (29.7.2005) by S.I. 2005/2122, art. 2; and as amended: (14.7.2008) by 2008 c. 4, Sch. 26 para. 78, Sch. 28 Pt. 2; S.I. 2008/1586, Sch. 1 paras. 48(s), 50(2)(d); (30.11.2009) by S.I. 2009/3111, art. 2; (3.12.2012) by S.I. 2012/2905, art. 4; (3.12.2012) by 2012 c. 10, Sch. 14 para. 17; S.I. 2012/2906, art. 2(l))

F3 Words in Sch. 7 para. 1(6)(d) substituted (1.4.1996) by 1995 c. 40, ss. 5, 7(2), SCh. 4 para. 89(4)

F4 Sch. 7 para. 1(6)(f) repealed (N.I.) (3.4.2006) by The Criminal Justice (Evidence) (Northern Ireland) Order 2004 (S.I. 2004/1501), art. 1(3), Sch. 2 (with art. 43); S.R. 2006/63, art. 2

Marginal Citations

M1 1988 c. 32.

M2 1971 c. 36 (N.I.).

M3 S.I.1989/1341 (N.I.12).

M4 S.I.1988/1847 (N.I.17).