Charities Act 2011

57 Disclosure by Commission: Revenue and Customs information

(1) Section 56(3) does not apply in relation to Revenue and Customs information disclosed to the Commission under section 54(1).

(2) But any such information may not be further disclosed (whether under section 56(1) or otherwise) except with the consent of the Commissioners for Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs.

(3) It is an offence for a responsible person to disclose information in contravention of subsection (2).

(4) A person guilty of an offence under subsection (3) is liable—

(a) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or to a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum, or both;

(b) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to a fine, or both.

(5) It is a defence, where a responsible person is charged with an offence under subsection (3) of disclosing information, to prove that that person reasonably believed—

(a) that the disclosure was lawful, or

(b) that the information had already and lawfully been made available to the public.

(6) In the application of this section to Northern Ireland, the reference to 12 months in subsection (4) is to be read as a reference to 6 months.

(7) In this section “Revenue and Customs information” means information held as mentioned in section 18(1) of the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005.

(8) In this section “responsible person” means a person who is or was—

(a) a member of the Commission,

(b) a member of the staff of the Commission,

(c) a person acting on behalf of—

(i) the Commission, or

(ii) a member of the staff of the Commission, or

(d) a member of a committee established by the Commission.