58.1-3112 - Commissioner to preserve returns; destruction of returns; penalty. - Virginia Statutes

§ 58.1-3112. Commissioner to preserve returns; destruction of returns;penalty.

A. The commissioner of the revenue shall preserve in a permanent file in hisoffice all returns of tangible personal property, machinery and tools, andmerchants' capital.

B. The commissioner may, in his discretion, subject to the requirements ofthe Virginia Public Records Act (§ 42.1-76 et seq.), destroy any returns,collected by the commissioner of the revenue, which have been on file in hisoffice for at least six years after the tax assessment year. Any commissionerwho fails to comply with the provisions of this subsection shall be guilty ofa Class 2 misdemeanor.

C. In lieu of retaining the original returns in his office for at least sixyears after the tax assessment year, the commissioner, with the consent ofthe local governing body, may have the original returns copied. Any suchcopies shall be on a durable medium that complies with the requirements ofthe Virginia Public Records Act. After copying, the original returns may bedestroyed in accordance with the provisions of § 15.2-1412, and the copiesshall be retained in accordance with the provisions of subsections A and B ofthis section, mutatis mutandis. Any such copy may be used in any legalproceeding if the copy is authenticated in accordance with applicable law.

(Code 1950, §§ 58-876, 58-877; 1968, c. 627; 1984, c. 675; 1996, c. 323.)