In tax proceedings the Estonian Tax and Customs Board can ask a company for documents and explanations. A request has a deadline, and the company answers from its own accounting records. This article explains the legal basis of such a request, which records an Estonian company must keep and for how long, and what our document preparation service does when a request arrives.
The article is general information, not legal or tax advice. The tax authority decides in the proceedings; we do not represent the company before it.
What the Tax and Customs Board may request
- Evidence. Evidence in tax proceedings is any information collected regarding the case, including information, documents and items of property obtained from the taxable person or third parties; the tax authority decides which evidence it needs (Taxation Act § 59(1)).
- Information from the company. The tax authority may obtain oral and written information from a taxable person or its representative to ascertain facts relevant to the proceedings (Taxation Act § 60(1)).
- Transactions with associated persons. For transfer prices it may ask for information on transactions with associated persons and on the group, with at least 60 days to answer (Income Tax Act § 50(7)).
The records the company must have
- Every transaction recorded. An accounting entity documents and records all its business transactions in journals and ledgers within a reasonable period, and every entry is supported by source documents (Accounting Act § 6(2) and (4)).
- Seven years. Source documents are preserved for seven years from the end of the financial year in which the transaction was recorded, and ledgers, journals, contracts and other documents needed to reconstruct transactions also for seven years (Accounting Act § 12(1) and (2)).
What we prepare
The service Document preparation for an Estonian Tax and Customs Board audit, from from €1,500, gathers and puts in order the company's existing accounting documents and explanations that the Tax and Customs Board asks for, so that they can be handed over complete and on time: a list of what is asked for, the existing documents ordered by the request, and written explanations of the entries from the company's records. The starting price is for one request; more work is agreed in writing before it starts.
- Not included: creating missing source documents — we never do — representation before the Tax and Customs Board, tax advice, and a decision of the authority.
- Records missing? Restoring accounting from the source documents that exist is a separate service: accounting restoration.
Prices exclude VAT. All communication takes place by email.
Ready to start? The company's existing documents and explanations, ordered by the request; no representation. Order.
Official sources
The laws this article names, by the name of their official text, as read on 9 October 2026. For the Estonian acts we read the English translation in Riigi Teataja; the legally binding text is the Estonian one.
- Taxation Act — Riigi Teataja, English translation
- Income Tax Act — Riigi Teataja, English translation
- Accounting Act — Riigi Teataja, English translation
Sources are named in the text, without links. To see which of our services your company needs, open the Business Navigator.