Textual Amendments
F1Pt. 15B inserted (17.7.2013 for specified purposes and 1.4.2014 in so far as not already in force) by Finance Act 2013 (c. 29), Sch. 17 paras. 1, 2; S.I. 2014/1962, art. 2(1)(2)
(1)A person (“X”) commits an offence if—
(a)X discloses revenue and customs information relating to a person (as defined in section 19(2) of the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005),
(b)the identity of the person to whom the information relates is specified in the disclosure or can be deduced from it, and
(c)the disclosure contravenes section 1217CM(5).
(2)If a person (“Y”) is charged with an offence under subsection (1), it is a defence for Y to prove that Y reasonably believed—
(a)that the disclosure was lawful, or
(b)that the information had already and lawfully been made available to the public.
(3)A person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) is liable—
F2(a)on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or a fine or both, or
(b)on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 12 months or a fine not exceeding the statutory maximum or both.
(4)A prosecution for an offence under subsection (1) may be brought in England and Wales [F3only by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions.]
(5)A prosecution for an offence under subsection (1) may be brought in Northern Ireland only—
(a)by the Commissioners for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs, or
(b)with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland.
(6)In the application of this section—
F4(a). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
(b)in Northern Ireland,
the reference in subsection (3)(b) to 12 months is to be read as a reference to 6 months.]
Textual Amendments
F2S. 1217CN(3)(a): By The Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022 (Magistrates’ Court Sentencing Powers) Regulations 2023 (S.I. 2023/149), regs. 1(2), 20(4)(a), it is provided that (7.2.2023 at 12.00 p.m.) after subsection (3) there is inserted the words “(3) (a) In the application of this section in England and Wales, the reference in subsection (3)(b) to 12 months is to be read as a reference to the general limit in a magistrates’ court (or to 6 months in relation to an offence committed before 2 May 2022).”
F3Words in s. 1217CN(4) substituted (27.3.2014) by The Public Bodies (Merger of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Director of Revenue and Customs Prosecutions) Order 2014 (S.I. 2014/834), art. 1(1), Sch. 2 para. 64
F4S. 1217CN(6)(a) omitted (7.2.2023 at 12.00 p.m.) by virtue of The Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022 (Magistrates’ Court Sentencing Powers) Regulations 2023 (S.I. 2023/149), regs. 1(2), 20(4)(b)