Provided, however,
Except as provided in paragraph (d) of this section, books and records required to be kept by the Act or by these regulations may be stored on either micrographic media (as defined in paragraph (b)(1)(i) of this section) or electronic storage media (as defined in paragraph (b)(1)(ii) of this section) for the required time period under the conditions set forth in this paragraph (b); Provided, however, For electronic records, such storage media must preserve the native file format of the electronic records as required by paragraph (a)(1) of this section.
(ii) The term “electronic storage media” means any digital storage medium or system that:
(i) The Technical Consultant must file with the Commission an undertaking in a form acceptable to the Commission, signed by the Technical Consultant or a person duly authorized by the Technical Consultant. An acceptable undertaking must include the following provision with respect to the Electronic Recordkeeper:
With respect to any books and records maintained or preserved on behalf of the Electronic Recordkeeper, the undersigned hereby undertakes to furnish promptly to any representative of the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission or the United States Department of Justice (the “Representative”), upon reasonable request, such information as is deemed necessary by the Representative to download information kept on the Electronic Recordkeeper's electronic storage media to any medium acceptable under 17 CFR 1.31. The undersigned also undertakes to take reasonable steps to provide access to information contained on the Electronic Recordkeeper's electronic storage media, including, as appropriate, arrangements for the downloading of any record required to be maintained under the Commodity Exchange Act or the rules, regulations, or orders of the United States Commodity Futures Trading Commission, in a format acceptable to the Representative. In the event the Electronic Recordkeeper fails to download a record into a readable format and after reasonable notice to the Electronic Recordkeeper, upon being provided with the appropriate electronic storage medium, the undersigned will undertake to do so, at no charge to the United States, as the Representative may request.
Source
17 CFR § 1.31
Scoping language
All books and records required to be kept by the Act or by these regulations shall be kept in their original form (for paper records) or native file format (for electronic records) for a period of five years from the date thereof and shall be readily accessible during the first 2 years of the 5-year period; Provided, however, That records of any swap or related cash or forward transaction shall be kept until the termination, maturity, expiration, transfer, assignment, or novation date of the transaction and for a period of five years after such date. Records of oral communications kept pursuant to 1.35(a) and 23.202(a)(1) and (b)(1) of this chapter shall be kept for a period of one year. All such books and records shall be open to inspection by any representative of the Commission, or the United States Department of Justice. For purposes of this section, native file format means an electronic file that exists in the format in which it was originally created.