How to destroy expired documents

Documents have accumulated: what to do with them so as not to break the law

Our life is closely connected with a huge amount of papers.
Even in an ordinary apartment you can find deposits of various types of waste paper (for example, invoices or copies of personal documents). In companies and institutions, paper waste is generated in incomparably large volumes (administrative, administrative, economic, accounting, personnel and other documents). An ordinary citizen can get rid of unnecessary papers without any problems - do a general cleaning and throw away all the unnecessary paper trash. There is no need to follow any special procedures - even if something valuable is accidentally destroyed, no punishment will follow. True, in such a situation you will have to spend time and money to restore the lost document.

Completely different requirements apply to the destruction of documents generated during the activities of various companies. It will not be possible to get rid of orders, instructions, personnel and primary accounting documents, as well as many other documents without following a special procedure. In addition, documents can be destroyed only after the expiration of the legally established storage periods.

IMPORTANT! The responsibility for preserving archival documents (including personnel) during their storage periods is assigned to state bodies, local governments, organizations and citizens engaged in commercial activities, in accordance with paragraph 1 of Art. 17 of the Law “On Archiving in the Russian Federation” dated October 22, 2004 No. 125-FZ.

In case of non-compliance with this law, various types of liability are provided (Article 27 of Law No. 125-FZ).

Description of the destruction procedure - is it possible to do it with one act?

What is the procedure for destroying documents with expired storage periods?

For any documents (no matter administrative, accounting or personnel) there is a uniform procedure for their destruction. It is as follows:

• It is necessary to check whether the storage period for documents has expired, as well as the presence of documents that have lost their practical significance.
• An Expert Commission (EC), the composition of which is approved by the head of the company, must conduct an examination of the value of the documents (documented in the minutes of the EC meeting).
• An act for the destruction of documents is drawn up, approved by the head of the enterprise.
• The cases reflected in the act are destroyed, which is documented in a separate document.

To learn about the storage periods for documents, read the article “Retention period for accounting documents in an organization.”

You can’t do this with just one act, and you won’t be able to get rid of the documents alone. The role of the expert commission should not be underestimated in this case. For example, if during the examination it is revealed that in one case documents with an expired storage period are filed simultaneously with papers that have permanent or long storage periods, then such a set of documents will need to be expanded and disassembled. Documents that are not subject to destruction by a certain date are registered as separate files.

Or another example: if an examination of permanent storage documents reveals the presence of both originals, copies or their duplicates (that is, duplicate information), then the originals are subject to further storage, and the remaining documents are destroyed. All this is decided by an expert commission.

Her responsibilities also include determining whether the text of damaged documents can be recovered. Documents may be selected for destruction if most of the text is unreadable and cannot be restored. If text restoration is possible, the damaged document is not destroyed, but is subsequently restored or photocopied.

The results of the examination of documents must be reflected in the EC protocol, the form of which is not regulated by law. And when drawing up an act for the destruction of documents, it is better to use the form given in Appendix No. 4 to the Basic Rules for the Operation of Organizational Archives, approved by the decision of the Rosarkhiv Board of 02/06/2002.

Procedure

The procedure for destroying documents is divided into stages. First, the papers are identified for which the value examination will be carried out. If they are not sorted by year, then they start there. As a rule, this is the job of an archivist or secretaries.

When the documents are prepared, the commission needs to conduct an expert assessment of them. An examination of the value of documents confirms that documents with an expired storage period are being destroyed, they do not carry any value for the enterprise and they do not contain important information relating to a particular case.

After the assessment, a special act should be drawn up. It lists all the documents that need to be destroyed. When there is already an act, you can carry out the paper disposal procedure itself. After its completion, the act must be endorsed by the commission.

As for the methods of destroying documents, there are currently several of them:

• Shredding is the most popular and simplest method
• Combustion in special furnaces is the most environmentally friendly and safe
• On-site disposal - carried out by a specialized company

Small-scale organizations can destroy documentation themselves, for example, by cutting papers.

But this is only possible if the archival documents are not secret and their storage period has expired.

The destruction of documents that are not subject to storage using the shredding method is used by organizations that have a stationary installed shredder.

The installation makes it possible to simultaneously destroy 7-85 sheets of documents. The shredder machine can have a capacity from 13 to 300 liters. The classification of shredders is based on the paper shredding technique they perform.

• Flat cutters - cut sheets into thin strips, which are then dumped into a special container.
• Shredders – crush documents into crumbs. Such installations carry out the destruction of archives consisting of secret papers, as well as the destruction of accounting documents with expired storage periods.
• Grinders are equipped with a special screen, which makes it possible to adjust the width of the shredded sheets.
• Industrial - used for shredding very thick paper.

Shredders can shred documents into strips with a width of 3.9-6 millimeters, or crumbs with a diameter of less than 0.5 millimeters. The size of paper particles depends on the degree of confidentiality of information on paper.

The destruction of documents by burning can only be carried out by special companies in accordance with the law. For this, special ovens are used. Other storage media, such as flash drives, disks, and floppy disks, can also be disposed of in ovens.

Employees of an organization involved in document disposal seal the papers in a special container, draw up a storage agreement with the customer and deliver containers with documentation to the destruction site.

At the plant, the papers are immersed in an oven where they are completely destroyed. After this procedure, the customer receives a recycling certificate. This method of document disposal is the most reliable and confidential.

During on-site recycling, employees of a specialized company travel to the customer’s organization to destroy papers on site. To carry out the operation, an industrial shredder installed in a truck is used. It is capable of shredding up to two tons of sheets in one hour.

This form of document disposal is not considered completely reliable. If necessary and desired, the shredded sheets can be restored. Therefore, this method is not suitable for secret media.

After shredding, the paper waste is compressed, after which it is transported to the site for further processing.

How to draw up an act for the destruction of documents

Until documents with an expired storage period are destroyed, those responsible for their destruction will have to work hard. Firstly, the selected documents must be organized and described - this is what the act “On the allocation for destruction of documents not subject to storage” is intended for.

The act does not need to describe each case - it is enough to indicate their total number and deadlines for completing the paperwork. For example, in an act regarding orders for administrative and economic activities, it is enough to provide the following information:

In addition to filling out the tabular part of the act, it is required to indicate other important information: the total numbers of storage units to be destroyed, indicating the time period of the cases; a note confirming the agreement of the information given in the act with the expert commission (including the date and number of the EC protocol on the approval of inventories of permanent storage files). The act is approved by the head of the company. A special place in it is given to the date of compilation - this detail deserves special attention. We'll talk about this further.

Document destruction act

The destruction of files from the moment of selection to sending to the shredder is documented in one document - an act on the allocation for destruction of archival documents that are not subject to storage. The form is approved by the Rules for organizing the storage, acquisition, recording and use of documents of the Archival Fund of the Russian Federation and other archival documents in government bodies, local governments and organizations in Appendix No. 21 (Example 3).

As can be seen from the example, the document destruction act conditionally consists of two parts. The first is a list of cases and documents allocated for destruction, the second informs about how exactly the documents were destroyed.

Let's go through the act and consider the basic rules for filling out its unified form.

The first part of the act: registration rules

1. The name of the organization can be either full or short. The main thing is that the name stated in the act corresponds to the organization’s charter.

2. Acts on the destruction of documents must be registered, like other documents. The act is assigned a serial number according to the corresponding registration form. The date of the act must correspond to the date of its approval.

3. The act is approved by the general director.

4. Documents are selected for destruction on the basis of regulations establishing storage periods. And this is not only the 2010 List. We have included as an example an industry document containing retention periods to show what several such documents look like in the act.

5. Information about the documents being destroyed is summarized in a table.

• Each entry in the table is assigned a serial number.

• The group heading of the case is placed in the second column: “Invoices” or “Orders...”. In this case, there is no need to list things by storage unit. Moreover, if the same file is destroyed over several years at once, then it is enough to make only one entry in the act (see entry No. 3 in Example 3).

• The third column indicates the years for which documents are destroyed.

• The inventory, as already mentioned, is the main accounting document of the archive. If the documents being destroyed were included in the inventory, its number is indicated in the fourth column, and the serial numbers of the storage units being destroyed according to this inventory are indicated in the fifth column (see entry No. 1). Documents with five-year or shorter storage periods are not described, so dashes are placed in these columns (see entry No. 2). If this is the first destruction of documents in the organization, and the inventory has not yet been compiled, then both columns (fourth and fifth) can be removed from the table - there is nothing to add to them yet.

• The number of storage units to be destroyed is indicated for each case.

• The seventh column indicates the storage period for each file and a link to its source. Since the word “List” in the column heading means the 2010 List, the full or abbreviated name of the remaining sources will have to be placed in the table (see entry No. 4).

• The “Note” column is traditionally used for all kinds of notes. For example, that the case is electronic (see entry No. 5).

6. The following is a summary: the total number of storage units destroyed, total paper and electronic media, is written in numbers and in words.

7. The first part of the act is signed by the employee responsible for the archive and submitted to the expert commission for approval. Then a visa is issued with a link to the minutes of the EC meeting, which records the agreement.

It is advisable to submit the document destruction act for approval to the general director now, despite the fact that the second part of the act is still empty. The manager must know which documents will soon be destroyed. Moreover, it is he who makes the decision to destroy and records this in the approval stamp. Destruction of documents is an irreversible process. It is impossible to return papers after they have been recycled.

The second part of the act: design features

This part indicates exactly how and on what basis the documents were destroyed. The form of the destruction act approved by the 2015 Rules implies that the destruction is carried out by a contractor. Therefore, the second part indicates the weight of the documents (they will be accepted by weight, and not by pieces of storage units), registration data of the contract, and method of destruction.

If the organization destroys the documents itself, the record will look like that shown in Example 4.

Please note: documents were destroyed in the presence of officials - members of the EC. In this case, there is no need to draw up a separate act, but it is also impossible to destroy the papers without supervision.

If only paper documents are destroyed, then the phrase “on electronic media” is excluded from the act. O means that after the destruction of the documents, the archivist took up the inventories, the documents from which were sent for destruction, and made the appropriate notes (Example 5).

Please note: in the inventory, unlike the act of destruction, each storage unit is presented separately. They also receive notes separately. If documents were destroyed that were not in the inventory, or when drawing up the act, columns 4 and 5 of the table were excluded, no mark is placed in the inventory.

How not to make a mistake with the act date

In order not to violate the requirements of the law and not to accidentally get rid of documents whose storage period has not yet expired, it is necessary to correctly calculate these periods. The following must be taken into account:

• Before destroying files with a registration date of 2010 or later, their storage periods must be checked against the list approved by Order No. 236 of the Federal Archive of Russia dated December 20, 2019, or Order No. 558 of the Ministry of Culture dated August 25, 2010.
• Documents created before 2009 (inclusive) can be destroyed only if the storage period specified in the List of standard management documents approved by Rosarkhiv on 10/06/2000 has expired. This is due to the fact that Order No. 558, which put the 2010 list into effect, does not have retroactive force, that is, it does not apply to previously established relationships - otherwise it is not directly stated in it. And the individual terms of the 2000 list and the 2010 list do not coincide for the same types of documents.

When specifying the date of destruction of documents, it should be remembered that the destruction act is allowed to include those documents whose storage period has expired by January 1 of the year the act was drawn up. For example, a case from 2015 with a storage period of 5 years can be included in the act no earlier than 2021.

Who deals with document disposal?

Disposal of documents requires the creation of a special commission. It must consist of at least two people. As a rule, these are employees from different departments of the organization, including the department whose papers need to be destroyed. The commission must put its signatures on the document destruction act.

It is important to remember that committee members are responsible for the documentation to be disposed of. This issue must be approached with all responsibility and attention so as not to make a mistake and destroy important materials.

You also need to know that many papers must be kept for five years, otherwise there is a threat of facing serious sanctions.

When to draw up an act if the storage periods for documents are unknown

In the course of business activities, an organization may acquire documents that are not listed in legally defined lists. Sooner or later the question of their destruction also arises.

In any case, before issuing a destruction certificate, it is necessary to specify the storage period for such documents. In accordance with clause 2.2.5 of the Basic Rules for the Operation of Organizational Archives, to determine the storage periods for documents not provided for in the lists, the organization's EC has the right to make a request to the specialists of the archival institution.

Only after the storage period has been determined can the future fate of such documents be decided (destroyed or continued to be stored).

Document retention periods

Maintaining a document archive can be entrusted to a specialized organization on the basis of a contract. If you decide to store your documents yourself, you need to develop a local regulation that will regulate the storage procedure. In addition, you need to create an appropriate structural unit, for example, “Archives department”. In practice, commercial organizations, instead of creating such a department, prescribe the functions of its management in the job description of the head of a structural unit. Thus, usually the head of the personnel department is responsible for storing personnel documents, and the chief accountant is responsible for storing accounting documents.

For the purpose of rational documentation support and compliance with current legislation, it is necessary to properly store documents. To ensure the timely receipt of archival documents from structural units, ensuring their recording, preservation, organization, use and preparation for transfer for permanent storage, an archive is created in the organization. Depending on the volume of documents, this may be an independent structural unit or a unit within the documentation support service of management or the personnel department, which receives and stores archival documents for the purpose of their use.

The archive of the organization is completed with files of permanent, temporary (over ten years) storage, as well as files on personnel (clause 3.3.1 of the Rules for the operation of archives).

Temporary storage files with storage periods of up to ten years are, as a rule, not subject to transfer to the archive. They are stored in the structural divisions of the organization and are destroyed upon expiration of the storage period.

Long-term or permanent storage periods usually have documents that:

— contain information about the policies and actions of the organization;

— contain information about the organization’s interaction with its clients;

— document the rights and obligations of individuals and organizations;

- used to create a “memory” of the organization for scientific, cultural or historical purposes;

— contain information about activities of interest to internal and external stakeholders.

The main legislative act in the field of establishing storage periods for documents is the List. It is necessary not only to determine the storage periods for documents generated in the activities of the organization, but also to compile the nomenclature of the organization and formulate files. It is also used by expert review commissions.

Note. The list applies to all types of organizations, regardless of ownership and legal form.

There are two sections devoted to personnel documents in the List:

— section 7 “Labor relations” (includes documentation on the organization of labor and official activities, as well as on rationing, tariffs, remuneration and labor protection);

— Section 8 “Staffing” (includes documentation on recruitment, transfer, dismissal, establishment and advanced training, as well as on rewarding employees).

The storage period for documents on paper and electronic media begins on January 1 of the year following the year in which they were completed. For example, the calculation of the storage period for cases completed in 2009 began on January 1, 2010.

The storage periods specified in the List are applied by organizations in different ways: temporary periods are applied by everyone, and permanent ones are applied by state and municipal organizations whose documents are received for storage in archives, as well as by private organizations that have entered into appropriate agreements with archives.

In any case, commercial organizations and individual entrepreneurs must store documents for at least ten years. The further storage period is determined in accordance with current legislation or the need for their further use. Here are the storage periods for basic personnel documents.

Nuances of drawing up an act for the destruction of accounting documents

It is necessary to dwell separately on the features of destruction of accounting documents. Despite the fact that their storage periods are also established by the 2010 list and they are subject to the general procedure for storing and destroying documents in accordance with Law No. 125-FZ, there are still a number of regulatory documents whose requirements must be taken into account.

So, in Art. 23 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation establishes that the taxpayer is obliged to retain accounting data and other papers necessary for the calculation and payment of taxes for 4 years. A Art. 29 of the Law “On Accounting” dated December 6, 2011 No. 402-FZ establishes a retention period of 5 years for primary accounting documents, accounting registers, accounting policies, accounting records and other documents related to the organization and maintenance of accounting.

For more information about the period for which documents such as invoices must be stored, read the material “What is the storage period for invoices?” .

That is, if the accounting register, certificate or other paper in any way belongs to the accounting category, it is impossible to issue a destruction act before the expiration of the 5-year period. If this happens, the head of the company will be held liable for unlawful destruction.

However, that's not all. The above applied to those companies and enterprises whose activities during the entire period of their existence were break-even. If a loss is received and it is transferred to subsequent periods, all documents confirming the amount of such loss are prohibited from being destroyed during the entire period of transfer (Article 283 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation).

When all legally established storage periods have expired, a destruction certificate is issued in the usual manner.

The procedure for destroying accounting documents with an expired storage period

Let us consider in more detail the procedure for destroying accounting documents with expired storage periods. It provides the following sequence of actions:

1. The head of the organization issues an order that regulates the procedure for forming an expert commission.
2. The expert commission creates a list of papers and distributes them into groups based on their shelf life.
3. Members of the expert commission and invited experts (if any) draw up an act for the destruction of papers, and the head of the company signs it.
4. Accounting papers are transferred for destruction in the prescribed manner. There are several methods of elimination. Each company chooses which of them to resort to in each specific case.
5. The expert commission records the fact of destruction of papers in the manner prescribed by law. The presence of acts confirming the liquidation procedure will allow the enterprise to avoid claims from supervisory authorities in the future.

The act has been completed - how to get rid of waste paper

The law does not define specific methods for destroying documents with an expired storage period. Since at the time of drawing up the act, these documents no longer represent any value for the company and, in fact, are waste paper, any way to get rid of them is possible. For example, you can:

• send documents for processing (disposal) to a specialized organization;
• get rid of unnecessary papers using a special shredder (office shredder, paper shredder, etc.);
• burn (however, this may cause problems with firefighters).

The first method can result in significant material costs for the company to pay for disposal services, and the transfer of documents will have to be formalized with an acceptance certificate or invoice indicating the number of cases and their weight. To ensure confidentiality, you will need to send your employee to a special organization to monitor the document destruction procedure.

In all other cases, you also cannot do without completing additional documents - we’ll talk about this in the next section.

How to destroy documents: step-by-step instructions

The workspace likes to be cluttered with stacks of papers and old folders. The first thought is to dump everything in a pile and throw it away. But you can't. These are houses around waste paper. At work, these are documents, and the procedure for destroying documents with an expired storage period is regulated by the Law “On Archiving in the Russian Federation” dated October 22, 2004 No. 125-FZ. To get rid of unnecessary things, you will have to work hard.

ConsultantPlus experts examined whether an employer (LLC) can independently destroy paper documents containing personal data of employees (full name, date and place of birth, place of residence, passport details, etc.) using a shredder. Use these instructions for free.

Instructions on how to write off documents that have expired, step by step:

Step 1.

What is subject to liquidation cannot be determined by eye. You'll have to turn everything upside down and highlight what's unnecessary and expired. This honorable mission is carried out by an expert commission. And the first thing is to issue an order for its creation.

Step 2.

An expert commission is being formed. The involvement of specialists is welcome.

Step 3.

Expert work. The commission members carefully, leaf by leaf, go through all the folders, stacks and sort the papers. It's a dusty matter, but an important one. The task: to understand what to get rid of and what to preserve.

Step 4.

After the examination, everything is sorted into three types and documented in a protocol:

• subject to further storage;
• to be transferred to the archive;
• subject to destruction with expired shelf life.

It is advisable to show the papers identified for liquidation to the heads of the relevant departments for approval. This will provide an opportunity to insure yourself and share responsibility. It should be noted that the disposal of accounting documents with an expired shelf life, as well as personnel records, is similar to regular liquidation. They are subject to the general storage and destruction procedure. Attention should be paid not so much to the protocol of the procedure itself, but to the duration of storage of the papers. Because the destruction of the archive of accounting documents must be carried out with an eye to the deadlines not only for No. 125-FZ, but also for Art. 23 of the Tax Code of the Russian Federation and Art. 29 of the Law “On Accounting” dated December 6, 2011 No. 402-FZ.

Step 5.

Drawing up an act on identifying papers to be destroyed in connection with the end of storage. It includes all securities whose shelf life expired by January 1 of the current year.

Step 6.

Approval of the act by the manager. This is a mandatory procedure to give the act administrative force. The corresponding stamp indicates that the manager is familiar with the information. Only after this should the act be registered and filed in the file.

Step 7

Issuance of an order for destruction and method of disposal. The manager studies the act and decides what order to issue for the destruction of documents with an expired shelf life, since it is possible to dispose of documents that have become unnecessary in several ways. The decision is most often influenced by the volume of what we are getting rid of and the financial component. If the volume is small, it is permissible to destroy documents with expired storage periods yourself by shredding. For large volumes, it is advisable to involve specialized organizations.

Step 8

Disposal of documents in the manner indicated in the order.

Step 9

Drawing up an act of destruction. In case of self-disposal, the act indicates:

• date and place;
• way;
• basis for holding;
• weight and volume of papers;
• Full name, positions of those present;
• signatures of those present confirming that the disposal took place.

When deciding to engage a third-party organization, a transfer act is drawn up, which indicates:

• what is transferred for disposal (weight and volume);
• to whom it is transmitted;
• date and place of transfer;
• basis of transfer;
• chosen method;
• Full name, positions of the persons present;
• signatures of those present confirming that the transfer took place.

Step 10

Approval of the act by the manager.

Step 11

Registration and adoption of the act.

We formalize the fact of destruction of documents

The act “On the allocation for destruction of documents that are not subject to storage” is not the only document that needs to be drawn up in such a situation. Another document (usually also called an act) is drawn up to confirm the very fact of destruction of documents that have lost practical significance and are outdated. There is no standard form for this act, so it is drawn up in any form. It is important to include all the necessary information.

To ensure that there are no complaints about this document later, it must reflect the following:

• the name of the document and the name of the company on behalf of which it is drawn up;
• date of execution of the act;
• description of the fact of destruction of documents (indicating the volume or quantity, as well as the method of destruction);
• signatures with transcripts, full names of responsible persons.

A sample document destruction act was developed by ConsultantPlus experts. Get a free trial of K+ and proceed to the sample.

Document destruction process

Document destruction is usually carried out in one of two ways: by burning or shredding. The latter is only provided that the documents cannot be restored. Documents should not be sent to the nearest landfill, torn into pieces, or used as drafts.

As a rule, special organizations are hired to destroy documents . Most often, these organizations offer shredding as a method of destruction, and the resulting waste can be immediately accepted as waste paper, thereby returning part of the cost of their services. At the request of the customer, the contractor can film the destruction process. Representatives of the customer organization may also be present when documents are destroyed.

A standard contract for the provision of services for a fee is drawn up with the organization that deals with the destruction of documents. The contractor will propose a standard form of the contract at the negotiation stage. All that is required of the archivist is to ensure that the contract contains a clause stating that the executor undertakes to ensure the confidentiality of the documents being destroyed, since among them there may be cases that contain personal data, commercial or other types of secrets. To avoid wasting time sorting classified and unclassified documents that will soon be nothing more than shavings, contractors ensure confidentiality by default.

You can destroy documents on your own if production capacity allows, for example, a furnace or industrial shredder is operating in the workshops of the enterprise. An attempt to get rid of documents using an ordinary office shredder is doomed to failure if the volume of papers exceeds one folder.

Documents were destroyed according to the act - can the manager be punished?

If the act of allocating documents for destruction is formed correctly (in compliance with the entire procedure for organizing and conducting the examination of documents and recording the results of the EC’s work), the manager can still be held accountable if the documents were destroyed prematurely and their storage periods were not respected .

IMPORTANT! In accordance with Art. 15.11 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation for gross violation of the terms of storage of accounting documents, a fine in the amount of 5,000 to 10,000 rubles is possible.

If a legal entity does not have the funds to organize and maintain a separate archival service, but does not want to be punished, it is necessary to appoint responsible employees whose functions will include continuous monitoring of the storage of documents and the timely destruction of files with expired storage periods.

Fines for document destruction

If damage or loss of a document occurs due to the fault of an employee, then he can be held liable for the destruction of:

1. Administrative liability - may arise in the event of loss or violation of the rules for storing documents, or during disposal ahead of schedule, which can distort financial indicators during inspections. A fine in the amount of 2 - 3 thousand rubles is issued to the official.
2. Tax - imposed on each document not provided during the inspection, up to 200 rubles, up to 10 thousand rubles. for lost or destroyed documents for any tax period, up to 30 thousand rubles. when damaged over several periods.
3. Criminal - if an audit reveals that due to the loss of documents, taxes were not paid, then the fine increases from 100 thousand rubles. up to 300 thousand rubles. The official responsible for the destruction of documents that led to the robbery of the state may have their wages garnished for 1-2 years. Or he may be arrested for 2 years with removal from his position. If taxes were not paid on a particularly large scale, then penalties will range from 200 thousand rubles. up to 500 thousand rubles, wage arrest from 1 to 3 years, or arrest for 5 years with suspension for 3 years.

The manager is obliged to ensure that the lost documentation is restored. Because if this rule is not followed, the company will be punished.

How to draw up an act if you need to destroy documents in electronic form

In accordance with Art. 5 of Law No. 125-FZ, the reflection of documents in the archival fund does not depend on the method of creation and type of media.

In paragraph 2 of Art. 29 of Law No. 402-FZ states that documents and means that reproduce electronic media, as well as verify the authenticity of digital signatures, must be stored for at least 5 years after the year in which they were last used to prepare accounting reports.

Currently, huge volumes of documentation can be stored in a company in electronic form, as well as on special media (disks, flash cards, etc.). If the EC determines that electronic documents have no practical significance and (or) their storage period has expired, the information must be destroyed along with the media. In this case, the same destruction methods can be used as for paper documents (shredding, burning, changing shape, etc.).

In addition, special methods can be used - erasing or overwriting files (paragraph 2, section 9.9 of GOST 15489-1-2007, approved by order of Rostekhregulirovaniya dated March 12, 2007 No. 28-st).

The law does not provide for a special procedure (including for drawing up an act), so it is necessary to adhere to the general procedure described earlier for paper documents. However, we should not forget the following:

• It is prohibited to get rid of unnecessary files and documents without authorization and without drawing up an act;
• documents related to legal proceedings (ongoing or upcoming) must not be destroyed;
• the requirement for confidentiality of information contained in destroyed documents and their copies cannot be ignored;
• it is necessary to destroy all copies of documents (including personal and backup ones), if such duplicates are permitted for destruction.

For information on how seals are destroyed, read the article “Procedure for writing off and destroying seals (nuances).”

Results

The destruction of documents with expired storage periods occurs after the completion of the work of the expert commission with the mandatory execution of a report. Then, in relation to all documents reflected in the act, a physical liquidation procedure is carried out - this action is also formalized in a separate act.

Methods for getting rid of documents may be different; this point is not regulated by law. It is permissible to hand them over for recycling to a specialized company, use an office shredder, or use another method.

Sources:

• Basic Rules for the Operation of Organizational Archives
• Tax Code of the Russian Federation
• Federal Law of December 6, 2011 No. 402-FZ
• Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation
• Order of the Ministry of Culture of Russia dated August 25, 2010 No. 558
• Order of Rosarkhiv dated December 20, 2019 No. 236

You can find more complete information on the topic in ConsultantPlus. Free trial access to the system for 2 days.

Destruction of documents after expiration of the storage period

The destruction of primary accounting documents is a right, not an obligation of the organization. The implementation of such a procedure must be documented by relevant acts. Otherwise, there is a possibility that the destroyed documents may be requested by regulatory authorities and founders, but there will be nothing to confirm their absence. In this connection, their status will be interpreted by the organization as “available,” which may lead to a conflict situation.

To assess the storage period of accounting documentation, the head of the organization may, by order (instruction), create a separate expert commission.

It will not be superfluous if this commission includes qualified employees of the leading structural divisions of the company, as well as a representative of the clerical service. The expert commission is headed by one of the deputy heads of the institution. And its secretary, as a rule, is the head of the archive (or the person responsible for the organization’s archive). As a rule, the secretary is entrusted with such functions as maintaining the records of the expert commission, storing and using its documents, being responsible for their safety, as well as monitoring the implementation of its decisions.

An expert commission can be created as a permanent advisory body under the head of the enterprise. In this case, the commission may be vested with the right, within its competence:

• give recommendations to structural units on the development of a nomenclature of cases, examination of the value of documents;
• request written explanations from the heads of departments of the company about the reasons for the loss, damage or illegal destruction of documents with permanent and long-term storage periods, as well as other rights.

Here is an example form of an order to create an expert commission (see sample 1).

In the process of its work, the commission compiles a list of documents whose storage period established by law has expired, and signs an act upon its approval. After this, the commission destroys documents according to the list, which is also evidenced by an act signed by its members.

If the commission decides to send unclaimed documents as waste paper, then this fact can be documented as an invoice. In this case, the invoice for the transfer of waste paper must have such details as: the date of transfer, the number of boxes (folders) transferred and their weight. Please note that the funds received for waste paper by the organization should be reflected as part of other income.

To independently develop regulations on a permanent expert commission, a company can be guided by the recommendations set out in the Order of Rosarkhiv dated January 19, 1995 No. 2, and the Basic Rules for the work of the organization’s archives, adopted by the decision of the Board of Rosarkhiv dated February 6, 2002.