RSTP2032 - Meaning of 'produce documents'

We may issue an information notice that requires you to produce a document.

‘Produce’ means ‘to bring something out from somewhere and show it’. The document must therefore exist when the information notice is given to you.

You do not have to send the document to us but the person does have to show it to us and give us the opportunity to examine it.

We are entitled to take a copy or to make an extract from the document and, if necessary, we can remove the document and retain it for a reasonable period. This means that briefly showing the document to us, without giving the officer the opportunity to take a copy of it or remove it if required, will not be sufficient to meet the requirements of the notice.

Any copying we do must be at our expense, not the expense of the person to whom the notice has been given.

We may request production of a document that is covered by a lien. A lien is a right to retain someone else’s property until a debt is paid. Producing the document to us does not affect the lien.