Finance Act 1989

182 Disclosure of information. E+W+S+N.I.

(1) A person who discloses any information which he holds or has held in the exercise of tax functions [F1 , tax credit functions][F2 or social security functions], and is guilty of an offence if it is information about any matter relevant, for the purposes of [F3 any of those functions—.

(a) to tax or duty in the case of any identifiable person,

[F4 (aa) to a tax credit in respect of any identifiable person,]

(b) to contributions payable by or in respect of any identifiable person, or

(c) to statutory sick pay [F5 , statutory maternity pay, statutory paternity pay or statutory adoption pay] in respect of any identifiable person.]

(2) In this section “tax functions” means functions relatingto tax or duty—

(a) of the Commissioners, the Board and their officers,

(b) of any person carrying out the administrative work of any tribunalmentioned in subsection (3) belowm, and

(c) of any other person providing, or employed in the provision of, servicesto any person mentioned in paragraph (a) or (b) above.

[F6 (2ZA) In this section “tax credit functions” means the functions relating to tax credits—

(a) of the Board,

(b) of any person carrying out the administrative work of the General Commissioners or the Special Commissioners, and

(c) of any other person providing, or employed in the provision of, services to the Board or to any person mentioned in paragraph (b) above.]

[F7 (2A) In this section “social security functions” means—

(a) the functions relating to contributions, [F8 child benefit, guardian’s allowance,]statutory sick pay [F9 , statutory maternity pay, statutory paternity pay or statutory adoption pay]—

(i) of the Board and their officers,

(ii) of any person carrying out the administrative work of the General Commissioners or the Special Commissioners, and

(iii) of any other person providing, or employed in the provision of, services to any person mentioned in sub-paragraph (i) or (ii) above, and

(b) the functions under Part III of the Pension Schemes Act 1993 or Part III of the Pension Schemes (Northern Ireland) Act 1993 of the Board and their officers and any other person providing, or employed in the provision of, services to the Board or their officers.]

(3) The tribunals referred to in subsection (2)(b) above are—

(a) the General Commissioners and the Special Commissioners,

(b) any value added tax tribunal,

(c) any referee or board of referees appointed [F10 for the purposes of section80(3) of the M1 Taxes Management Act 1970 or] under section26(7) of the M2 Capital Allowances Act 1968, and

(d) any tribunal established under section 463 of the Taxes Act 1970 orsection 706 of the Taxes Act 1988.

(4) A person who discloses any information which—

(a) he holds or has held in the exercise of functions—

(i) of the Comptroller Auditor General and any member of the staff of theNational Audit Office, F11 . . .

(ii) of the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration and his officers,

[F12 (iii) of the Auditor General for Wales and any member of his staff, or

(iv) of the Welsh Administration Ombudsman and any member of his staff,]

(b) is, or is derived from, information which was held by any person in the exercise of tax functions [F13 , tax credit functions][F14 or social security functions], and

(c) is information about any matter relevant, for the purposes of [F15 tax functions [F16 , tax credit functions] or social security functions—

(i) to tax or duty in the case of any identifiable person,

[F17 (ia) to a tax credit in respect of any identifiable person,]

(ii) to contributions payable by or in respect of any identifiable person, or

(iii) to [F18 child benefit, guardian’s allowance,]statutory sick pay [F19 , statutory maternity pay, statutory paternity pay or statutory adoption pay] in respect of any identifiable person]

is guilty of an offence.

(5) Subsections (1) and (4) above do not apply to any disclosure ofinformation—

(a) with lawful authority,

(b) with the consent of any person in whose case the information is about amatter relevant to tax or duty [F20 or to a tax credit][F21 or to contributions, statutory sick pay [F22 , statutory maternity pay, statutory paternity pay or statutory adoption pay]], or

(c) which has been lawfully made available to the public before the disclosureis made.

(6) For the purposes of this section a disclosure of any information is madewith lawful authority if, and only if, it is made—

(a) by a Crown servant in accordance with his official duty,

(b) by any other person for the purposes of the function in the exercise ofwhich he holds the information and without contravening any restriction dulyimposed by the person responsible,

(c) to, or in accordance with an authorisation duly given by, the personresponsible,

(d) in pursuance of any enactment or of any order of a court, or

(e) in connection with the institution of or otherwise for the purposes of anyproceedings relating to any matter within the general responsibility of theCommissioners or, as the case requires, the Board,

and in this subsection “the person responsible” means the Commissioners, the Board, the Comptroller [F23 , the Parliamentary Commissioner, the Auditor General for Wales or the Welsh Administration Ombudsman,] as the case requires.

(7) It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under this sectionto prove that at the time of the alleged offence—

(a) he believed that he had lawful authority to make the disclosure inquestion and had no reasonable cause to believe otherwise, or

(b) he believed that the information in question had been lawfully madeavailable to the public before the disclosure was made and had no reasonablecause to believe otherwise.

(8) A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable—

(a) on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding twoyears or a fine or both, and

(b) on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding six monthsor a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or both.

(9) No prosecution for an offence under this section shall be instituted inEngland and Wales or in Northern Ireland except—

(a) by the Commissioners or the Board, as the case requires, or

(b) by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions or, inNorthern Ireland, the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland.

(10) In this section—

“the Board” means the Commissioners of Inland Revenue,

“the Commissioners” means the Commissioners of Customsand Excise,

[F24 “contributions” means contributions under Part I of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 or Part I of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits (Northern Ireland) Act 1992;]

“Crown servant” has the same meaning as in the M3 Official Secrets Act 1989,

[F25 “tax credit” means a tax credit under the Tax Credits Act 2002,] and

“tax or duty” means any tax or duty within the general responsibility of the Commissioners or the Board.

(11) In this section—

(a) references to the Comptroller and Auditor General include the Comptrollerand Auditor General for Northern Ireland,

(b) references to the National Audit Office include the Northern Ireland Audit Office, and

(c) references to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration includethe Health Service Commissioner for England, the Health Service Commissioner for Wales, the Health Service Commissioner for Scotland, the [F26 Assembly Ombudsman for Northern Ireland] and the Northern IrelandCommissioner for Complaints.

[F27 (11A) In this section, references to statutory paternity pay or statutory adoption pay include statutory pay under Northern Ireland legislation corresponding to Part 12ZA or Part 12ZB of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 (c. 4).]

(12) This section shall come into force on the repeal of section 2 of the M4 Official Secrets Act 1911.

Annotations:

Annotations are used to give authority for changes and other effects on the legislation you are viewing and to convey editorial information. They appear at the foot of the relevant provision or under the associated heading. Annotations are categorised by annotation type, such as F-notes for textual amendments and I-notes for commencement information (a full list can be found in the Editorial Practice Guide). Each annotation is identified by a sequential reference number. For F-notes, M-notes and X-notes, the number also appears in bold superscript at the relevant location in the text. All annotations contain links to the affecting legislation.

Amendments (Textual)

F1 Words in s. 182(1) inserted (5.10.1999) by 1999 c. 10, ss. 12(2)(a), 20(2) (and the said insertion is continued (1.8.2002 for certain purposes otherwiseprosp.) by 2002 c. 21, ss. 59, 61, Sch. 5 para. 11(2)(a); S.I. 2002/1727, art. 2 (which said S.I. was amended by S.I. 2002/2158, art. 2)

F2 Words in s. 182(1) inserted (1.4.1999) by 1999 c. 2, s. 6, Sch. 6 para. 9(2)(a); S.I. 1999/527, art. 2(b), Sch. 2

F3 S. 182(1)(a)-(c) and words immediately preceding substituted for words in s. 182(1) (1.4.1999) by 1999 c. 2, s. 6, Sch. 6 para. 9(2)(b); S.I. 1999/527, art. 2(b), Sch. 2

F4 S. 182(1)(aa) substituted (1.8.2002 for certain purposes otherwiseprosp.) by 2002 c. 21, ss. 59, 61, Sch. 5 para. 11(2)(b); S.I. 2002/1727, art. 2 (which said S.I. was amended by S.I. 2002/2158, art. 2)

F5 Words in s. 128(1)(c) substituted (8.12.2002) by 2002 c. 22, s. 53, Sch. 7 para. 1(2)(a); S.I. 2002/2866, art. 2(2), Sch. 1 Pt. 2

F6 S. 182(2ZA) substituted (1.8.2002 for certain purposes otherwiseprosp.) by 2002 c. 21, ss. 59, 61, Sch. 5 para. 11(3); S.I. 2002/1727, art. 2 (which said S.I. was amended by S.I. 2002/2158, art. 2)

F7 S. 182(2A) inserted (1.4.1999) by 1999 c. 2, s. 6, Sch. 6 para. 9(3); S.I. 1999/527, art. 2(b), Sch. 2

F8 Words in s. 182(2A)(a) inserted (1.8.2002 for certain purposes otherwiseprosp.) by 2002 c. 21, ss. 59, 61, Sch. 5 para. 11(4); S.I. 2002/1727, art. 2 (which said S.I. was amended by S.I. 2002/2158, art. 2)

F9 Words in s. 182(2A)(a) substituted (8.12.2002) by 2002 c. 22, s. 53, Sch. 7 para. 1(2)(b); S.I. 2002/2866, art. 2(2), Sch. 1 Pt. 2

F10 Words in s. 182(3)(c) repealed (1.5.1995 with effect as mentioned in Sch. 29 Pt. VIII(16), note 5) by 1995 c. 4, s. 162, Sch. 29 Pt. VIII(16)

F11 Word in s. 182(4)(a)(i) repealed (1.2.1999) by 1998 c. 38, s. 152, Sch. 18 Pt. I (with ss. 137(1), 139(2), 141(1), 143(2)); S.I. 1999/118, art. 2

F12 S. 182(4)(a)(iii)(iv) inserted (1.2.1999) by 1998 c. 38, s. 125, Sch. 12 para. 31(2) (with ss. 137(1), 139(2), 141(1), 143(2)); S.I. 1999/118, art. 2

F13 Words in s. 182(4)(b) inserted (5.10.1999) by 1999 c. 10, ss. 12(4)(a), 20(2)(and the said insertion is continued (1.8.2002 for certain purposes otherwiseprosp.) by 2002 c. 21, ss. 59, 61, Sch. 5 para. 11(5)(a); S.I. 2002/1727, art. 2 (which said S.I. was amended by S.I. 2002/2158, art. 2)

F14 Words in s. 182(4)(b) inserted (1.4.1999) by 1999 c. 2, s. 6, Sch. 6 para. 9(4)(a); S.I. 1999/527, art. 2(b), Sch. 2

F15 S. 182(4)(c)(i)-(iii) and words immediately preceding substituted for words in s. 182(4)(c) (1.4.1999) by 1999 c. 2, s. 6, Sch. 6 para. 9(4)(b); S.I. 1999/527, art. 2(b), Sch. 2

F16 Words in s. 182(4)(c) inserted (5.10.1999) by 1999 c. 10, ss. 12(4)(b), 20(2) (and the said insertion is continued (1.8.2002 for certain purposes otherwiseprosp.) by 2002 c. 21, ss. 59, 61, Sch. 5 para. 11(5)(a); S.I. 2002/1727, art. 2 (which said S.I. was amended by S.I. 2002/2158, art. 2)

F17 S. 182(4)(c)(ia) substituted (1.8.2002 for certain purposes otherwiseprosp.) by 2002 c. 21, ss. 59, 61, Sch. 5 para. 11(5)(c); S.I. 2002/1727, art. 2 (which said S.I. was amended by S.I. 2002/2158, art. 2)

F18 Words in s. 182(4)(c)(iii) inserted (1.8.2002 for certain purposes otherwiseprosp.) by 2002 c. 21, ss. 59, 61, Sch. 5 para. 11(5)(d); S.I. 2002/1727, art. 2 (which said S.I. was amended by S.I. 2002/2158, art. 2)

F19 Words in s. 182(4)(c)(iii) substituted (8.12.2002) by 2002 c. 22, s. 53, Sch. 7 para. 1(2)(c); S.I. 2002/2866, art. 2(2), Sch. 1 Pt. 2

F20 Words in s. 182(5)(b) substituted (1.8.2002 for certain purposes otherwiseprosp.) by 2002 c. 21, ss. 59, 61, Sch. 5 para. 11(6); S.I. 2001/1727, art. 2 (which said S.I. was amended by S.I. 2002/2158, art. 2)

F21 Words in s. 182(5)(b) inserted (1.4.1999) by 1999 c. 2, s. 6, Sch. 6 para. 9(5); S.I. 1999/527, art. 2(b), Sch. 2

F22 Words in s. 182(5)(b) substituted (8.12.2002) by 2002 c. 22, s. 53, Sch. 7 para. 1(2)(d); S.I. 2002/2866, art. 2(2), Sch. Pt. 2

F23 Words in s. 182(6)(e) substituted (1.2.1999) by 1998 c. 38, s. 125, Sch. 12 para. 31(3) (with ss. 137(1), 139(2), 141(1), 143(2)); S.I. 1999/118, art. 2

F24 S. 182(10): definition of

“contributions”

inserted (1.4.1999) by 1999 c. 2, s. 6, Sch. 6 para. 9(6); S.I. 1999/527, art. 2(b), Sch. 2

F25 Words in s. 182(10) inserted (1.8.2002 for certain purposes otherwiseprosp.) by 2002 c. 21, ss. 59, 61, Sch. 5 para. 11(7); S.I. 2002/1727, art. 2 (which said S.I. was amended by S.I. 2002/2158, art. 2)

F26 Words in s. 182(11)(c) substituted (16.7.1996) by S.I. 1996/1298 (N.I. 8), art. 21(1), Sch. 5

F27 S. 182(11A) inserted (8.12.2002) by 2002 c. 22, s. 53, Sch. 7 para. 1(3); S.I. 2002/2866, art. 2(2), Sch. 1 Pt. 2

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 182 restricted (6.4.1997) by 1995 c. 26, s. 109(5) (with 121(5)); S.I. 1997/664, art. 2(3), Sch. Pt. II

S. 182 restricted (6.4.1997) by S.I. 1995/3213 (N.I. 22), art. 107(2) (with art. 118(5)(6)); S.R. 1997/192, art. 2(b)

Marginal Citations

M1 1970 c. 9.

M2 1968 c. 3.

M3 1989c. 6.

M4 1911 c. 28.