All documents received from a party shall be retained either in paper form or by scanning the document electronically into an electronic case file. In cases where duplicate copies of documents are received by the Board of Appeals, only the first copy of the document received by the Board of Appeals shall be retained in the paper or electronic case file. The Board of Appeals shall maintain a record of all testimony and proceedings before the Board of Appeals and its special examiners. Upon the filing of an appeal from a decision of the Board of Appeals to a circuit court, the record of the oral proceedings shall be transcribed. Except as otherwise provided by statute or regulation, the party filing the appeal with a circuit court shall pay to the Department the expense of the transcript, including a reasonable charge for the reproduction of exhibits, in advance of the transcript preparation. An individual claiming benefits may not be charged a fee for transcription of the oral proceedings in that individual’s case.