Companies Act 2014 section 686

Books of company to be evidence in civil proceedings

Section 686 deals with the admissibility of company books and records as evidence in civil proceedings during a winding up.

• During a winding up, all books and records of the company, the liquidator, and any provisional liquidator are admissible as evidence in civil proceedings
• This admissibility applies as between the company's members, officers, and contributories on one hand, and the liquidator, provisional liquidator, and the Corporate Enforcement Authority on the other
• The information in those records serves as prima facie evidence of any fact recorded in them, unless proof to the contrary is submitted
• This provision overcomes the practical difficulty that the person who created a document may be unwilling to give evidence about it if doing so would prejudice their own position