A taxing question : the legal and other issues relating to media conversion for the records of the Inland Revenue Available to Purchase

This article looks at the issues which the Inland Revenue might consider in deciding whether to convert its paper records to another medium. There is a brief description of the functions of the Revenue, followed by an outline of some of the legislation which governs the actions of the Revenue. Some of the new developments which are currently being introduced in the Revenue are mentioned. Having given this background information the article looks at the ways in which the paper records could be converted to other media. It considers whether such conversion would be acceptable in the context of the legal requirements relating to the Revenue's operations, as the legal aspect of media conversion is the most important issue for an organisation whose main role is to implement tax law. This is followed by a mention of some of the other considerations which relate to media conversion issues, but which are not strictly legal issues. Note that this is not a comprehensive case study of current records conversion practices and policies in the Inland Revenue, but rather an examination of the issues which the Revenue might consider. Other organisations would have similar issues to consider, particularly if they also have strict requirements regarding documents as evidence.