Income Tax Act · 2024 Revised Edition · Part · Returns
56A. Keeping of books of account and giving of receipts
Official textFrom Attorney General's Chambers, unchanged
Subject to subsection (3), every person carrying on or exercising any trade, business, profession or vocation shall —
keep and retain in safe custody sufficient records for a period of 7 years from the year of assessment to which any income relates to enable his income and allowable deductions under this
Act to be readily ascertained by the Collector or any officer authorised in that behalf by the Collector; and
issue a printed receipt serially numbered for every sum received in respect of goods sold or services performed in the course of or in connection with such trade, business, profession or vocation, and shall retain a duplicate of every such receipt.
Where a machine is used for recording sales, a receipt may be dispensed with if the Collector is satisfied that —
Collector
“Collector” means the Collector of Income Tax appointed under section 3 and includes for all purposes of this Act, except the powers conferred on the Collector by sections 76, 79, 80 and 83, a Deputy Collector so appointed;
such machine automatically records all sales made; and
the total of all sales made in each day is transferred at the end of the day to a record of sales.
The Collector may by notice in writing to any person carrying on or exercising any trade, business, profession or vocation, or by notice published in the Gazette in respect of any class or description of any such person, prescribe —
Income Tax
the form of the records to be kept under subsection (1)(a)
and the manner in which such records shall be kept and retained;
and
the form of the receipts to be issued and the duplicates to be retained under subsection (1)(b) and the manner in which such receipts shall be issued and such duplicates shall be retained, and every such person shall be bound to comply with such notice.
The Collector may waive all or any of the provisions of subsection (1) in respect of any person or records or any class or description of persons or records.
Any person who without reasonable excuse fails to comply with subsection (1) is guilty of an offence.
In this section, “records” includes —
books of account recording receipts, payments, income and expenditure;
invoices, vouchers, receipts and such other documents as in the opinion of the Collector are necessary to verify the entries in any book of account; and
any records relating to any trade, business, profession or vocation.
Terms defined in s 2
Collector
Defined · s 2“Collector” means the Collector of Income Tax appointed under section 3 and includes for all purposes of this Act, except the powers conferred on the Collector by sections 76, 79, 80 and 83, a Deputy Collector so appointed;
year of assessment
Defined · s 2“year of assessment” means the period of 12 months commencing on the 1st day of January 1950 and each subsequent period of 12 months.
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