How long should investors retain complaint records and contract notes?

You keep contract notes, account statements, and any complaint-related correspondence for at least the period relevant to potential future disputes or tax scrutiny, and in practice that means retaining trading and tax-related documents for a minimum of six to eight years, since Indian income tax law allows for reassessment of returns going back several years in certain circumstances, and having original documentation on hand makes responding to any future query far easier. For records specifically related to a formal complaint or SCORES/ODR case, you keep everything, the original complaint, all correspondence, the resolution or outcome, indefinitely if the amount involved is significant, since these could become relevant again if a similar issue recurs or if you need to reference the resolution precedent later. Digital copies are generally sufficient and easier to keep organised long-term than physical printouts, so you download and store contract notes and statements systematically (by financial year, for instance) rather than relying solely on being able to re-download them from the broker’s platform indefinitely, since access to old records isn’t guaranteed forever, especially if you ever close that account.