Revenue Scotland and Tax Powers Act 2014 section 156

Offence of concealing etc. documents following information notification

Section 156 makes it a criminal offence to conceal, destroy or dispose of a document after being warned by a Revenue Scotland officer that the document is likely to be the subject of a formal information notice.

• It is a criminal offence to conceal, destroy or dispose of a document — or to arrange for someone else to do so — after being notified by a Revenue Scotland officer that the document is expected to be subject to an information notice
• The offence applies where Revenue Scotland has told the person that it either intends to issue the notice or is required to seek tribunal approval before doing so
• There is no offence if the person acts more than six months after the notification, or if a formal information notice requiring production of the document has already been issued
• Penalties on summary conviction include a fine up to the statutory maximum; on indictment, the penalty can be up to two years' imprisonment, an unlimited fine, or both