Revenue Scotland’s Powers for Information and Document Handling During Inspections

Revenue Scotland inspection powers over information, documents and computer records

Revenue Scotland can inspect information, documents and electronic records during a tax inspection, but its powers are limited to the subject of that inspection and must follow the same restrictions that apply to information notices. It may ask questions, copy or remove documents where necessary, and access relevant computer systems with reasonable assistance, but it cannot use an inspection as a general power to demand anything it wants.

• Its powers are targeted: they apply only to the premises, assets, goods, property and documents actually being inspected.
• Revenue Scotland may obtain and record information, and ask questions about the items being inspected, but answers are not always compulsory.
• It cannot inspect or obtain documents during an inspection if those documents could not lawfully have been required under the information notice rules.
• Documents may be copied, extracted or removed only where necessary, at a reasonable time, and for no longer than reasonably needed.
• If documents are removed, the person can ask for a free receipt or copy, and Revenue Scotland must pay reasonable repair or replacement costs if the documents are lost or damaged.
• For electronic records, Revenue Scotland may access and test relevant computer systems and require reasonable assistance, and obstruction can lead to penalties.

Scroll down for the full analysis.

Revenue Scotland inspections: information, documents and computer records

This page explains what Revenue Scotland can do with information and documents during an inspection, and where the limits are. The rules matter because an inspection is not the same as a general request for information. Revenue Scotland has specific powers, but those powers are tied to what is being inspected and are subject to restrictions.

What this rule is about

The source material deals with Revenue Scotland’s powers during an inspection under the Revenue Scotland and Tax Powers Act 2014. It covers four main areas:

• obtaining and recording information about what is being inspected
• copying, extracting and removing documents
• the limits on what documents can be inspected
• access to computer systems and related assistance

The key point is that an inspection power lets Revenue Scotland look at premises, property, goods, assets and documents in a targeted way. It does not give an unlimited right to ask any question or take any document.

What the official source says

Revenue Scotland may obtain and record information, in any way, about premises, property, goods, assets and documents that it inspects. It may also mark business assets, and anything in them, to show they have been inspected.

It may ask questions to obtain information about the things being inspected, but a person is not obliged to answer those questions. The power does not extend to wider questioning beyond the subject of the inspection.

If the inspection was approved by the tribunal, refusing to provide information relating to the things being inspected may expose the person to a penalty for deliberate obstruction. If the inspection was not tribunal-approved, Revenue Scotland may need to use an information notice if it wants to compel the information.

The same restrictions that apply to information notices also apply when Revenue Scotland obtains and records information during an inspection. In other words, the inspection power cannot be used to get around limits that would apply if Revenue Scotland had issued a formal information notice.

For documents, Revenue Scotland may copy them, take extracts from them, or remove them. But it cannot inspect a document during an inspection if an information notice issued at that time could not have required the occupier to produce that document. Again, the inspection power is limited by the same restrictions that govern information notices.

If documents are removed, this must be done at a reasonable time, only where Revenue Scotland considers removal necessary, and they may be kept only for a reasonable period, meaning no longer than needed for the task in hand. If requested by the person who produced the document, Revenue Scotland must provide a receipt or a copy free of charge.

The removal of a document does not affect any lien claimed over it. If part of a document is protected by one of the statutory restrictions, Revenue Scotland may copy or extract the document in a way that covers the restricted part rather than removing the whole document.

If a removed document is lost or damaged, Revenue Scotland must compensate the owner for reasonable replacement or repair costs.

For computer records, where a document must be produced, or Revenue Scotland has power to inspect, copy, remove or extract it, Revenue Scotland may at any reasonable time access and check the operation of any computer and related equipment used in connection with that document. It may require reasonable assistance from the person concerned. Obstructing this power, or failing to provide required assistance within a reasonable time, can lead to a penalty.

What this means in practice

In practice, the inspection power is narrower than it may first appear.

First, Revenue Scotland can gather and record information about what it is actually inspecting. That may include notes, photographs, recordings or other methods of recording. But the subject matter must relate to the inspection. This is not a free-standing power to conduct a broad interview about a taxpayer’s affairs.

Second, there is an important difference between asking for information and compelling it. During an inspection, Revenue Scotland can ask questions about the items being inspected, but you are not automatically required to answer. Whether refusal creates a penalty risk depends in part on whether the inspection had tribunal approval and whether the refusal amounts to deliberate obstruction.

Third, document powers are controlled by the same restrictions that apply to information notices. So if a document could not lawfully be required under an information notice, Revenue Scotland cannot simply obtain it by turning up for an inspection instead.

Fourth, removal of documents is allowed, but not on an open-ended basis. The removal must be necessary, done at a reasonable time, and the document must be returned once it is no longer needed for the relevant task.

Fifth, where records are electronic, Revenue Scotland’s powers extend to the computer systems and equipment used with those records. That includes checking how the system operates and requiring reasonable help to gain access. The help requested must itself be reasonable and proportionate.

How to analyse it

If you are trying to work out what Revenue Scotland can lawfully do during an inspection, these are the main questions to ask:

• What exactly is being inspected? The power to obtain information and ask questions is tied to the subject of the inspection.
• Is Revenue Scotland asking for information, or requiring it? A question asked during an inspection is not always compulsory to answer.
• Was the inspection approved by the tribunal? That may affect the consequences of refusing to cooperate.
• Would an information notice have been able to require this document or information? If not, the inspection power cannot usually be used to reach it.
• Is the request limited to what is reasonably necessary? This matters especially for copying arrangements, removal of documents, and computer assistance.
• Is any part of the material protected by a statutory restriction? If so, Revenue Scotland may need to redact, cover or extract around that restricted material.
• If documents are removed, was this done at a reasonable time and for no longer than reasonably needed?
• If computer access is requested, what assistance is actually reasonable in the circumstances?

For conveyancers, taxpayers and advisers, the practical discipline is to separate three things: what Revenue Scotland may inspect, what it may ask about, and what it may legally compel. Those are related, but they are not identical.

Example

A business is inspected by Revenue Scotland. During the visit, officers inspect accounting records held on a computer system and some paper invoices kept on site.

Revenue Scotland may record information about those records and may ask questions about them. It may copy invoices or take extracts from them. If necessary, it may remove certain invoices to copy them elsewhere and return them later, provided this is done reasonably and only for as long as needed.

If the records are electronic, Revenue Scotland may also ask for access to the computer system used in connection with those documents and require reasonable assistance to operate it.

But Revenue Scotland cannot use the inspection as a basis for asking unrestricted questions about matters unrelated to the records being inspected. Nor can it inspect a document that could not have been required under the information notice rules.

Why this can be difficult in practice

The difficult part is often not the existence of the power, but its boundaries.

One issue is scope. The source says Revenue Scotland may ask questions relating to the things it inspects, but not wider questions. In real cases, there may be disagreement about whether a question truly relates to the inspected material or strays into broader enquiry territory.

Another issue is the overlap with the information notice regime. The source makes clear that inspection powers are subject to the same restrictions, but applying those restrictions to a particular document can be fact-sensitive. A dispute may arise over whether the occupier could have been required to produce the document under an information notice at that time.

There can also be practical disagreement about what is “reasonable”. That affects the timing of document removal, the period of retention, and the level of assistance required for computer access. The source expressly recognises that assistance must be proportionate and not impose an undue burden, and that cost may itself be relevant to what is reasonable.

Finally, mixed documents can be awkward. If only part of a document falls within a restriction, removing the whole document may be inappropriate. In that situation, Revenue Scotland may need to copy or extract the document in a way that shields the restricted material.

Key takeaways

• Inspection powers are targeted powers. They relate to the premises, assets, goods, property and documents actually being inspected.
• Revenue Scotland may ask questions during an inspection, but that does not mean every question must be answered, and wider questioning is not authorised by this power.
• Document and information powers during an inspection are limited by the same restrictions that apply to information notices.
• Documents may be copied, extracted or removed, but only where this is necessary and done reasonably.
• For electronic records, Revenue Scotland may access and check relevant computer systems and require reasonable assistance, with penalties for obstruction or failure to assist.

This page was last updated on 24 March 2026

Useful article? You may find it helpful to read the original guidance here: Revenue Scotland’s Powers for Information and Document Handling During Inspections

View all LBTT Guidance Pages Here