                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

COMMISSIONER TO PRESERVE RETURNS; DESTRUCTION OF RETURNS; PENALTY (§ 58.1-3112)

A. The commissioner of the revenue shall preserve in a permanent file in his
office all returns of tangible personal property, machinery and tools, and
merchants&#8217; capital.

B. The commissioner may, in his discretion, subject to the requirements of the
Virginia Public Records Act (&#xA7; 42.1-76 et seq.), destroy any returns,
collected by the commissioner of the revenue, which have been on file in his
office for at least six years after the tax assessment year. Any commissioner
who fails to comply with the provisions of this subsection shall be guilty of a
Class 2 misdemeanor.

C. In lieu of retaining the original returns in his office for at least six
years after the tax assessment year, the commissioner, with the consent of the
local governing body, may have the original returns copied. Any such copies
shall be on a durable medium that complies with the requirements of the Virginia
Public Records Act. After copying, the original returns may be destroyed in
accordance with the provisions of &#xA7; 15.2-1412, and the copies shall be
retained in accordance with the provisions of subsections A and B of this
section, mutatis mutandis. Any such copy may be used in any legal proceeding if
the copy is authenticated in accordance with applicable law.

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