Canada Revenue Agency General Requirements for Record Keeping
The Canada Revenue Agency published last month a revised version of their guidelines regarding how books and records EDM9-1-1 entitled “General requirements for Records”, such as sales invoice, purchase invoice, and other accounting documents should be maintained by taxpayers.
Location of Accounting Records
The general rule is to the effect that a person must keep their books and records in Canada in either English or in French. Yet, a person may seek written authorization from the CRA to keep records outside of Canada as explained in section 10 of that guide;
“10. To seek written authorization from the CRA to keep records outside Canada, a person or their authorized representative must make a written request to their regional excise office and provide the following information:
• a clear identification of the records requested to be kept outside of Canada, including the format of those records
• the complete address of the location where the records are requested to be kept
• a signed undertaking by the person making the request that they will be responsible for ensuring that any records kept outside Canada will be made available within 30 days for review or audit by the CRA upon request
• details of the circumstances that may justify keeping the records at a location outside Canada
• any other information considered pertinent to the request”
Electronic-Keeping Method and Imaging
The CRA supports the digital transformation of accounting documents. Here is an abstract of their rules:
“22. Persons that must keep records are responsible for keeping them in a manner that will ensure the reliability and readability of the information recorded.
23. All records and supporting source documents originally produced in paper format must be kept in that format, unless they are saved in an acceptable electronic format.
24. All records and supporting source documents originally produced in electronic format must be kept in an electronically readable format, even if printouts are available.
25. “Records are considered to be kept in an electronic format when information is entered directly into any device for electronic processing, manipulation, or storage on electronic or optical media.”
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Advataxes ‘clients’ data is stored in datacenters located in Canada. Furthermore, clients can extract expense reports as well as all receipts attached to them in a readable PDF format (see our video here).
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