Electronic archiving and retention period in Sweden
The original form, e.g. a paper receipt, shall not need to be preserved if the accounting information is transferred to another form and the transfer, taking into account technical methods, organizational measures and other circumstances, does not involve any risk of the accounting information being changed or lost. This means i.a. that accounting material received by or prepared by a company in paper form should not need to be preserved if it is digitized. According to the government, the proposal leads to significant financial and time savings for many companies, above all because they do not have to handle large amounts of paper material for a long time.
The changes to the law are proposed to enter into force on 1 July 2024.
Time and place of storage
§ 2 The paper documents and electronic documents used to preserve accounting information must be durable and easily accessible. They must be kept up to and including the seventh year after the end of the calendar year in which the financial year ended (retention period). They must be stored in Sweden, in an orderly condition and in a reassuring and clear manner.
The equipment and systems needed to present the accounting information in a paper document must be kept available in Sweden throughout the retention period.
Law (2024:342).
§ 3 a Despite § 2, a company may store electronic documents and keep the equipment and systems available in another country within the European Union if
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the place of storage and any change to this place is notified to the Swedish Tax Agency or, in the case of companies under the supervision of the Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority supervision, to the Financial Supervisory Authority,
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the company, at the request of the Swedish Tax Agency or the Customs Agency, allows immediate electronic access to the accounting information for control purposes during the retention period, and
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the company, through immediate printing, can produce the accounting information in Sweden in a paper document.
The first paragraph also applies to storage in a country outside the European Union with which there are legal instruments on mutual assistance with a scope similar to those prescribed in
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Council Directive 2010/24/EU of 16 March 2010 on mutual assistance for the recovery of claims relating to taxes, fees and other measures, in the original wording,
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Council Directive 2011/16/EU of 15 February 2011 on administrative cooperation in matters of taxation and repealing Directive 77/799/EEC, in the wording according to the Council directive 2014/107/EU, and
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Council Regulation (EU) No. 904/2010 of 7 October 2010 on administrative cooperation and the fight against VAT fraud, as amended by Council Regulation (EU) No. 517/2013. Law (2024:342) .
§ 4 If there are special reasons, the Tax Agency may allow a company to store electronic documents abroad even if the conditions according to § 3 a are not met. In such cases, the equipment and systems referred to in § 2, second paragraph may be kept available in the same country. The permit may be subject to conditions and limited to a certain time.
Permits according to the first paragraph are granted by the Financial Supervisory Authority in the case of companies that are under the supervision of the inspection.
Law (2024:342) .
Source: https://www.riksdagen.se/sv/dokument-och-lagar/dokument/svensk-forfattningssamling/bokforingslag-19991078_sfs-1999-1078/#K
https://www.riksdagen.se/sv/dokument-och-lagar/dokument/betankande/avskaffat-krav-pa-bevarande-av_hb01cu21/
