How Long to Keep Business Records: The Retention Periods That Differ by Statute
Akash Kore
· Founder & Product Architect· 3 min read
Three statutes prescribe three different retention periods for overlapping documents. Keeping records for the shortest of them is a common and expensive mistake, because the department asking the question will be applying its own.
- ✓Income tax: six years from the end of the relevant assessment year.
- ✓Companies Act: eight financial years.
- ✓GST: seventy-two months from the due date of the annual return.
- ✓Where proceedings are pending, records must be kept until they conclude.
The three periods
1. Income tax: Rule 6F requires books to be kept for six years from the end of the relevant assessment year, which is effectively seven to eight years from the transaction.
2. Companies Act: Section 128 requires books of account and vouchers for at least eight financial years immediately preceding the current year.
3. GST: Section 36 requires records for seventy-two months from the due date of furnishing the annual return for that year.
Transfer pricing documentation under Rule 10D must be kept for eight years from the end of the relevant assessment year.
When proceedings extend them
Where an appeal, revision or other proceeding is pending, records relating to it must be retained until one year after final disposal, regardless of the ordinary period.
Reassessment under Section 148 can reach back further in specified cases, which is why the safe practice is to retain the longest applicable period and not to destroy anything while a dispute is live.
Electronic records
All three statutes permit electronic maintenance. The Companies Act requires that records kept electronically remain accessible in India at all times and be capable of being displayed in legible form, with a backup kept on servers physically located in India.
GST requires that electronic records be authenticated by digital signature and that proper backups be maintained and be restorable within a reasonable period.
A practical policy
Retain everything for eight years as a default, since that satisfies all three. Hold anything connected to a dispute indefinitely until a year after it concludes. Keep permanent records — incorporation documents, title deeds, statutory registers — without limit.
A written retention policy also protects against the opposite risk: keeping personal data longer than necessary, which under the DPDP Act is itself a compliance issue.
Frequently asked questions
### How long must GST records be kept?
Seventy-two months from the due date of furnishing the annual return for the year concerned, under Section 36 of the CGST Act. Where an appeal or proceeding is pending, records must be kept until one year after final disposal.
### Can records be kept only in electronic form?
Yes, under all three statutes, subject to conditions. The Companies Act requires electronic records to remain accessible in India with backups on servers located in India; GST requires authentication and restorable backups.
### What is the safest retention period?
Eight years satisfies the income tax, Companies Act and GST requirements together. Anything connected to a pending dispute should be kept until a year after it concludes, and permanent records should not be destroyed at all.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How long must GST records be kept?
Seventy-two months from the due date of furnishing the annual return for the year concerned, under Section 36 of the CGST Act. Where an appeal or proceeding is pending, records must be kept until one year after final disposal.
Can records be kept only in electronic form?
Yes, under all three statutes, subject to conditions. The Companies Act requires electronic records to remain accessible in India with backups on servers located in India; GST requires authentication and restorable backups.
What is the safest retention period?
Eight years satisfies the income tax, Companies Act and GST requirements together. Anything connected to a pending dispute should be kept until a year after it concludes, and permanent records should not be destroyed at all.
Akash Kore
Founder & Product ArchitectArchitecting business document operating systems and automated billing workflows for Indian SMBs, agencies, and enterprises.