LTT: offences for destroying documents named in an information notice
Destroying records during an LTT check
WRA guidance says that hiding, destroying or disposing of documents requested through certain information-notice processes can be a criminal offence.
- This can apply after tribunal approval.
- It can also apply once the WRA says it intends to seek approval.
- A reasonable excuse may provide a defence.
Scroll down for the full analysis.
Read the original guidance here:
LTT: offences for destroying documents named in an information notice
LTT: offences for destroying documents named in an information notice
If the Welsh Revenue Authority asks for records during an LTT check, do not hide, shred or get rid of them. According to the WRA, this can be a criminal offence in some cases. An appeal against the request does not make it safe to destroy the papers.
What this rule is about
An information notice is a formal request for information or documents. It may relate to Land Transaction Tax, Wales’s land tax, rather than stamp duty land tax. Put simply, records that may be needed for a check must not disappear.
This can matter long before anyone decides whether tax is due. Losing a document by mistake and deliberately getting rid of it are very different issues, but the facts will matter.
What the official source says
WRA technical guidance describes two situations where concealing, destroying or otherwise disposing of a document may be an offence.
- The document is required by an information notice.
- The tribunal has approved that notice.
- The person hides, destroys or otherwise gets rid of the document.
- This can still be an offence if the person has appealed against the notice or one of its requirements.
- It can also apply after the WRA says it intends to ask the tribunal for approval, even before it has made that request.
According to the guidance, there is a defence if the person can show they had a reasonable excuse. It also says a court may impose a fine. In a more serious court case, it may impose up to two years in prison, a fine, or both.
What this means in practice
Keep the records safe. That is the practical message.
Do not assume that challenging a notice lets you clear out files, delete emails or destroy notes. The guidance specifically says an appeal does not prevent the offence rule from applying.
- Keep original documents where possible.
- Preserve electronic records, including emails and scanned files.
- Record where documents are stored or moved.
- Keep any WRA letter, email or tribunal paperwork.
- Do not destroy material simply because you think the request is wrong.
How to analyse it
Start with the documents, then the notices and messages. A key question is not only whether the WRA had the papers. It is what you knew when the document was hidden, destroyed or disposed of.
- Was there an information notice that required this document?
- Did the tribunal approve that notice?
- If not, had the WRA said it intended to seek the tribunal’s agreement?
- What happened to the document, and when?
- Was an appeal underway?
- Is there evidence of a reasonable excuse?
Example
Sam receives a message saying that the WRA intends to ask the tribunal to approve a request for sale records. Sam then shreds the relevant paper records. On the guidance’s account, the fact that tribunal approval has not yet been obtained does not itself remove the risk of an offence. If Sam says there was a reasonable excuse, the facts and evidence would be important.
Why this can be difficult in practice
This source gives the broad rule, not every answer. “Reasonable excuse” is not defined in the supplied guidance. A court would need to consider the real circumstances.
- A routine records-deletion system may raise different questions from deliberate shredding.
- A missing file is not automatically proof that somebody hid it.
- An appeal may affect the wider dispute, but it does not excuse destroying documents under the guidance.
- The source does not set a fixed fine amount.
Key takeaways
- Keep documents named in a WRA information notice safe.
- An appeal does not make destruction safe.
- A reasonable excuse may be a defence, but evidence matters.
Technical analysis
For advisers, and for anyone who wants to check the law behind this page. You do not need this section to understand the guidance above.
Official guidance
The pages below are the Welsh Revenue Authority’s guidance. Guidance is not law. It sets out how the Welsh Revenue Authority reads the legislation, and it is not binding on you, on a tribunal or on a court. Where guidance and the legislation differ, the legislation wins. the Welsh Revenue Authority can also change or withdraw guidance, and it may not cover your facts.
Where this is not settled
- The supplied material does not set out the statutory wording or explain how a court will assess a reasonable excuse.
- The current statutory position could not be checked against a supplied currency notice or bundled provision.
Evidence you would need
This kind of case is decided on the facts of the individual property. These are the records that usually settle it, and the ones an adviser would ask you for.
- The information notice and any tribunal approval.
- Any message in which the WRA says it intends to seek tribunal approval.
- The document’s history, including where it was kept and what happened to it.
- Evidence supporting any claimed reasonable excuse.
Explore this with an AI
Readers often want to test their own situation. Copy the prompt below into ChatGPT, Claude or Gemini. It hands the model the actual legislation for this page rather than letting it answer from memory, and tells it to be explicit about what is uncertain. What comes back is information, not advice – check it against the links above.
I am researching Land Transaction Tax (LTT), the tax on property in Wales. It replaced Stamp Duty Land Tax in Wales on 1 April 2018, and SDLT does not apply in Wales. MY QUESTION LTT: offences for destroying documents named in an information notice [Replace this with your own situation: what you are buying, the price, the dates, who the buyer is, and what you plan to do with the property.] Guidance page from the Welsh Revenue Authority on this topic (guidance, not law): https://www.gov.wales/tax-collection-and-management-wales-act-2016-investigative-powers-technical-guidance#6713 HOW I WANT YOU TO ANSWER 1. Work from the legislation above. Read it before answering. Guidance from the Welsh Revenue Authority is its view of the law, not the law, and does not bind a tribunal or a court. 2. Tell me what the rule actually requires, in plain English. 3. Tell me which facts decide the answer, and which facts would change it. 4. Tell me what evidence I would need to support the position. 5. Be explicit about anything unsettled or fact-sensitive. Do not guess. 6. Your training data has a cutoff and SDLT rates and reliefs change at fiscal events. Say so if you are not sure the law is current. POINTS ALREADY KNOWN TO BE UNCERTAIN ON THIS TOPIC - The supplied material does not set out the statutory wording or explain how a court will assess a reasonable excuse. - The current statutory position could not be checked against a supplied currency notice or bundled provision. Do not give me a conclusion you cannot support from the provisions above.
Legislation links show the Land Transaction Tax and Anti-avoidance of Devolved Taxes (Wales) Act 2017 as it stood on 2025-11-17. The law may have changed since, and the rules that apply are those in force on the date of your transaction. The official guidance this page is based on is here.
This page was last updated on 3 September 2026
Useful article? You may find it helpful to read the original guidance here: LTT: offences for destroying documents named in an information notice
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