CRA: written permission (Form T137) is needed to destroy records early, and covers only CRA-administered laws (Canada Revenue Agency, Where to keep your records, for how long and how to request the permission to destroy them early (page dated 2026-08-03))
A Canadian company may destroy tax records before the period ends only with the CRA's written permission, asked for on Form T137; destroying them without it can be prosecuted. That permission does not cover records other laws require.
Dated 31 Oct 2026Source checked 31 Oct 2026Basis: primary text
Selling a company's data? This is one of the rules a sale has to meet, and the guide beside the button reads it in plain words.
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In the source's own words
“If you want to destroy your books of account and records earlier than the retention period specified in How long to keep your records, you first must get written permission from the CRA. ... fill in Form T137, Request for Destruction of Records ... If you destroy paper or electronic records without the ... permission, you may be prosecuted. ... The CRA is not authorized to approve the destruction of records you have to keep under other federal, provincial, territorial or municipal laws.”
Where it was read
Also read from the same source
- CRA, Where to keep your records, for how long: six years from the end of the last tax year, the same under the payroll and GST/HST statutes (Canada Revenue Agency, Where to keep your records, for how long and how to request the permission to destroy them early (page dated 2026-08-03))
- CRA: a dissolved corporation keeps its records for two years after dissolution (Canada Revenue Agency, Where to keep your records, for how long and how to request the permission to destroy them early (page dated 2026-08-03))
Figures it counts in
It is shown on its own, not counted into a figure.
Cited in this guide