What is retention obligation? Meaning and explanation

Under the Dutch General State Taxes Act, businesses must keep their administration for 7 years. Data on real estate and rights to it, such as a business premises or land, and data on the Union scheme or Import scheme of the One Stop Shop are kept for 10 years. The period only starts once a record is no longer current: a 4-year lease belongs to the administration while it runs, and the retention period starts afterwards. Basic records such as the general ledger, accounts receivable and payable, purchase and sales records, inventory and payroll must always be kept for 7 years; for other records a shorter period can be agreed with the Tax Administration.

Records are kept in their original form, digital or paper. Merely printing digital files is not enough: the Tax Administration must be able to use the programs and files during an audit. Records may be transferred to another medium, as long as this is done accurately and completely and they remain readable within a reasonable time for the whole retention period. The GDPR also applies: you do not keep personal data longer than necessary without good reason.

For a firm, this means clients must deliver their documents completely and findably, and the link between document and entry must remain traceable. In Autoboeker, clients deliver documents through the client portal, the app, email or Connect, and every action by people and AI is recorded in the audit log. The retention obligation itself remains with the business owner.