Is Form 16 required and of how many recent Saral Form/Form 16 is needs to be retained?

[msgforsunil]

Hi All,

Couple of questions?

1. With Form 16 being filed and on receipt, we will have Saral Form(Form 2d). Should I retain Form16, when I have Saral Form with me? If yes, then why?
2. How many years latest Saral Form/Form 16 needs to be retained?

Please add more details.

Thanks
Sunil Kumar

[ReVoLuTiOn]

For individual assessee there is no mandatory to keep record of ITR or Form 16. But if you apply for bank loan they normally ask for minimum 3 years ITR. But I would not go by this rule, it is an important document and just one or two pages, so I would keep it life time.

[Madhura]

There is no rule for individuals but for businesses need to keep books for at least 6 years.
For how many years books of accounts are required to be preserved:
Every year the record of books of accounts grows up and the cupboards filled up more and more. Every assessee wants to know for how many years he should keep the records of his books of accounts. Rule 6F(5) provides that the books of accounts and other documents are to be kept for at least 6 years from the end of relevant assessment year. That means from the assessment year 2009-10 one should keep books of accounts upto the assessment year 2003-04 i.e. books of accounts of financial year 2002-03

[msgforsunil]

Going back to the original question, should I retain Form16 when I have Saral Form(Form 2d)?

[ReVoLuTiOn]

Going back to the original question, should I retain Form16 when I have Saral Form(Form 2d)?

I would retain it, you might need it in future to explain some financial transactions.