Savings (Government Contributions) Act 2017

Part 6 Information sharing

Information sharing between HMRC and others

18 (1) Sub-paragraph (2) applies to information which—

(a) is held as mentioned in section 18(1) of the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005 (confidentiality),

(b) relates to withdrawals from a Lifetime ISA, and

(c) is relevant to whether an individual is eligible for a bonus under the Help to Buy: ISA Scheme.

(2) Information to which this sub-paragraph applies may be disclosed to the Administrator for use for the purpose of establishing whether or not an individual is eligible for a bonus under the Help to Buy: ISA Scheme.

(3) In this paragraph—

• “the Administrator” means the person who for the time being is the Administrator under the Scheme Rules (as from time to time amended or supplemented) of the Help to Buy: ISA Scheme, and

• “the Help to Buy: ISA Scheme” means the scheme of that name—

  (a)

  announced by the Treasury in March 2015,

  (b)

  launched on 1 December 2015,

  (c)

  for which Scheme Rules were published on that date by the Treasury, and

  (d)

  which is governed by those Scheme Rules (as from time to time amended or supplemented),

and paragraph 1(1) (meaning of “bonus”) does not apply for the purposes of this paragraph.

(4) Information disclosed in reliance on sub-paragraph (2) may not be further disclosed to any other person without the authority of HMRC (which may be general or specific).

(5) If revenue and customs information relating to a person is disclosed in contravention of sub-paragraph (4) and the identity of the person—

(a) is specified in the disclosure, or

(b) can be deduced from it,

section 19 of the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005 (wrongful disclosure) applies in relation to the disclosure as it applies in relation to a disclosure of such information in contravention of section 20(9) of that Act.

(6) In sub-paragraph (5) “revenue and customs information relating to a person” has the meaning given by section 19(2) of the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005.

(7) A person who holds any information may disclose that information to HMRC or an officer of Revenue and Customs if the disclosure is made for the purposes of the exercise of any of the functions of HMRC, or an officer of Revenue and Customs, under section 1 and this Schedule.

(8) This paragraph does not limit the circumstances in which information may be disclosed apart from this paragraph.