# Finance Act 2012, Paragraph 21


(1) A person (“P”) commits an offence if P—
(a) conceals, destroys or otherwise disposes of a required document, or
(b) arranges for the concealment, destruction or disposal of a required document.
(2) A “required document” is a document within sub-paragraph (3) or sub-paragraph (4).
(3) A document is within this sub-paragraph if at the time when P acts—
(a) P is required to provide the document by a file access notice, and
(b) either—
(i) the notice has not been complied with, or
(ii) it has been complied with, but P has been notified in writing by an officer of Revenue and Customs that P must continue to preserve the document (and the notification has not been withdrawn).
(4) A document is within this sub-paragraph if at the time when P acts—
(a) P is not required to provide the document by a file access notice,
(b) P has been informed by an officer of Revenue and Customs that P will be or is likely to be so required, and
(c) no more than 6 months have elapsed since P was, or was last, so informed.
(5) A person guilty of an offence under this paragraph is liable—
(a) on summary conviction, to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, and
(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to a fine, or both.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2012/14/schedule/38/paragraph/21 (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/finance-act-2012/schedule-38/paragraph-21
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.