Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005

40 Confidentiality

(1) The Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office may not disclose information which—

(a) is held by the Prosecutions Office in connection with any of its functions, and

(b) relates to a person whose identity is specified in the disclosure or can be deduced from it.

(2) But subsection (1)—

(a) does not apply to a disclosure which—

(i) is made for the purposes of a function of the Prosecutions Office, and

(ii) does not contravene any restriction imposed by the Director,

(b) does not apply to a disclosure made to Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs in connection with a function of the Revenue and Customs (within the meaning of section 25),

(c) does not apply to a disclosure made for the purposes of a criminal investigation or criminal proceedings (whether or not within the United Kingdom),

(d) does not apply to a disclosure which in the opinion of the Director is desirable for the purpose of safeguarding national security,

(e) does not apply to a disclosure made in pursuance of an order of a court,

(f) does not apply to a disclosure made with the consent of each person to whom the information relates, and

(g) is subject to any other enactment.

(3) A person commits an offence if he contravenes subsection (1).

(4) Subsection (3) does not apply to the disclosure of information about internal administrative arrangements of the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office (whether relating to a member of the Office or to another person).

(5) It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under this section of disclosing information to prove that he 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 this section a reference to the Revenue and Customs Prosecutions Office includes a reference to—

(a) former members of the Office, and

(b) persons who hold or have held appointment under section 38.

(7) A person guilty of an offence under this section shall be liable—

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

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

(8) A prosecution for an offence under this section may be instituted in England and Wales only—

(a) by the Director of Revenue and Customs Prosecutions, or

(b) with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

(9) A prosecution for an offence under this section may be instituted in Northern Ireland only—

(a) by the Commissioners, or

(b) with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland.

(10) In the application of this section to Scotland or Northern Ireland the reference in subsection (7)(b) to 12 months shall be taken as a reference to six months.

(11) In subsection (2) the reference to an enactment does not include—

(a) an Act of the Scottish Parliament or an instrument made under such an Act, or

(b) an Act of the Northern Ireland Assembly or an instrument made under such an Act.