Retention period

Retention period is the period that must be archived arranged within the storage requiring documents.

• 3.1 General requirements for business records

• 4.1 General requirements for business records
• 4.2 requirements related to land

General

Completed transactions can again become important, especially when statutes of limitations have not expired and a forfeiture has not yet occurred. Also warranty periods and product liability periods require a longer retention of business records, because with their immediate destruction is accompanied by a negative -acting of evidence. Any potential litigation or other supporting events subject therefore require archiving of documents in order from them at any time no longer be able to derive erinnerbare operations.

The most common and well known are the retention periods according to the commercial and tax law. In addition, there are industry-or application-specific storage requirements for documents in the public administration, drug development, food and pharmaceutical production, hospitals, quality assurance, environmental protection, telecommunications, power generation, construction, etc.

Statutory retention periods in Germany

Trade and fiscal regulations

In the German Commercial Code ( HGB § 238 and § 257 HGB ) and in the Tax Code ( § 147 AO) is regulated, how long commercial documents must be kept. These provisions apply only to merchants.

Six years

According to § 257 Section 1 No. 2 and 3 HGB received business letters, reproductions ( prints, copies ) should be preserved envoy business letters, business papers and other documents with commercial and fiscal significance of six years.

Ten years

According to § 257 Paragraph 1 No. 1 and 4 HGB trade books, inventories, opening balance, financial statements, financial statements in accordance with § 325 para 2 HGB, management reports, consolidated financial statements, management reports and necessary for their understanding work instructions and other organizational documents shall be kept for ten years. This also applies to the accounting documents in accordance with § 238 Paragraph 1 HGB leading books. Input and output invoices must be kept for another ten years ( § 14b Value Added Tax Act ).

Duration value

" Time value " is a term used in public administration, describes the permanent, so indefinite storage of documents. Corresponding files are there usually marked with a " D". These include in particular documents of historical importance, filing of proceedings before the Federal Constitutional Court with the authority concerned as a party, Gesetzesurschriften, property documents, civil status, construction plans for buildings and much more.

In business, there are indeed from commercial and tax law no longer retention periods beyond 10 years, but it is common practice to keep shareholder agreements, real estate documents, blueprints, patents, court judgments or personnel records also permanent.

Beginning and end of the retention period

The retention period begins with the end of the calendar year in which the document has been created or received after the closing date and ends with the end of the calendar year.

Requirements for hospitals

Medical records should be kept for insurance reasons ten years. In some areas, a longer statutory retention period applies, such as after radiation protection or the X-ray Ordinance and for records after the Transfusion Act a period of up to 30 years.

In accordance with § 10 Section 1 of the Professional Code (Statute ) of the Schleswig -Holstein ( BOÄK ) the doctor is obliged to account for the findings made ​​and actions taken in the exercise of his profession to make the required records ( patient record, medical record ). These medical records must be kept even after the completion of treatment basically ten years ( § 10 paragraph 4 BOÄK ).

Statutory retention periods in Austria

General requirements for business records

Pursuant to § 132 of the Federal Tax Code, there is a storage obligation of seven years for books, records, documents and business papers. Example: For documentation of the calendar year 2008 shall expire on 31 December 2015 (Note: where misguided economic year only documents may be destroyed, which relate to the year ending 2008 marketing year ).

Records and documents must relate to land which are held in accordance with § 18 para 10 UStG for 12 years. In particular, mixed-use land, this period may be extended to 22 years.

In principle also means that all documents are then kept longer if they at -pending method of delivery ( § 132 para 1 AO ) or in a pending judicial or administrative proceedings, are of importance ( § 212 UGB). If the tax returns were released very late, may result from the limitation fixing a longer retention period than ten years.

Statutory retention periods in Switzerland

General requirements for business records

In Obligations under Article 958f is the following entry:

In the Value Added Tax Act under Article 70, a similar entry is found:

Requirements in connection with land

The retention period for business documents is extended according to the VAT Act 70 para. 3 to 20 years.

Others

The English-language term for retention period is " Retention Period " and plays an important role in document management solutions for managing storage requiring documentation.