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they must be returned to Austria within a specified period. It must be
ensured that, even if the books and records are kept abroad, auditing of the
actual conditions relevant for levying taxes is possible without obstruction.
In addition, the books must be kept in a living language. If this is not a
permissible official language for the tax payer, translations must be made at
the tax payer's cost.
Business owners domiciled in Switzerland can keep their books abroad
without seeking the approval of the tax office. The basic principle is: the
place of keeping is not legally defined, however, access must be possible
from another domestic location. Tax payers are only permitted to keep data
carriers abroad if access, reproduction and availability of the data relevant
to taxation are possible at any time.
If company data are kept and processed off premises, it must also be
ensured that the applicable legal retention periods are complied with. A
violation can lead to taxation being estimated, and even to penalties in
particularly serious cases.
In Germany, harmonised retention periods in trade and fiscal law of six
years (for business letters including electronic mail) and ten years (for
invoices and receipts) apply. However, it may be necessary to observe
longer periods due to current proceedings or if tax returns were not made
on time. For this reason, a retention period of at least ten years is advisable
from a practical point of view.
In Austria books and records as well as the corresponding invoices and
receipts must be retained for a period of seven years. If proceedings are
opened, the documents must be kept for as long as necessary in order to
levy appropriate taxes. In some cases, longer retention periods may apply –
especially for real estate.
In Switzerland, the retention period under commercial law for accounts,
invoices and receipts and business correspondence is ten years, starting at
the end of the business year in which the documents were created. The
profit and loss account must be kept in original hard copy and signed. All
other documents can be kept in electronic form or comparable. This
includes e‐mails with business‐related content. The retention period for VAT
receipts and invoices depends on the limitation period for the tax demand in
question. It is effectively five years, but can be ten years in case of a
suspension or interruption of limitation. VAT invoices and receipts must be
kept for 20 years for real estate, and for 25 years in case of a change of use.
In case of direct taxation (including income tax) the retention periods are
