Evidence, receipts and retention
Keep sales records, invoices, expense receipts, vouchers and accounts for five years. Estimates and incomplete records are not acceptable. Records are submitted when IRAS requests them, and Excel listings can assist an audit. Non-GST businesses issuing receipts should number them and retain duplicates; an accurate alternative recording system may remove routine receipt issuance, but a receipt remains necessary on customer request. Missing records can lead to disallowed expenses, estimated additional income and penalties.
Special circumstances and tools
LLP records must be retained for five years after dissolution by the responsible partners or liquidator. Changing software does not require migration of every transaction, but old transactions and source documents must remain retrievable for the required period. Functional-currency accounts can be used for computations under the linked guidance, while return figures are converted to Singapore dollars. Separate PDF guides cover GST, non-GST and qualifying simplified records; spreadsheets are reference tools rather than substitutes for evidence.
Official source
A concise, independent Apex Gateway guide based on the official English source, not a reproduction of the complete document. Consult the original for full conditions, exceptions and subsequent updates.
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