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Tax Administration Act 1994

Information, record-keeping, and returns - Commissioner’s powers to obtain information - Confidentiality of information

18: Confidentiality of sensitive revenue information

You could also call this:

"Keeping sensitive tax information secret"

Illustration for Tax Administration Act 1994

You must keep sensitive revenue information secret. You can only share it if it is a permitted disclosure that meets the requirements of sections 18D to 18J. If you are not a revenue officer and you get sensitive revenue information, you must keep it secret. You can share the information if the Commissioner says you can, or if you are allowed to under an agreement. The Commissioner does not have to share information if it would hurt the tax system or the law. If you break the rules, you might get in trouble, and there are penalties for this, which you can find in section 143C for revenue officers, or sections 143D to 143EB for other people.

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View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM350412.

Topics:
Money and consumer rights > Taxes
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17M: Use of information, or

"How the Commissioner can use and share the information they get"

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18B: Requirements for revenue officers and other persons, or

"Keeping Tax Information Secret"

Part 3Information, record-keeping, and returns
Commissioner’s powers to obtain information: Confidentiality of information

18Confidentiality of sensitive revenue information

  1. A revenue officer must keep confidential all sensitive revenue information and must not disclose the information unless the disclosure is a permitted disclosure that meets the requirements of sections 18D to 18J.

  2. A person, other than a revenue officer, who has access to, or obtains sensitive revenue information must keep it confidential and must not disclose the information unless the disclosure is—

  3. authorised by the Commissioner as a permitted disclosure that meets the requirements of sections 18D to 18J:
    1. authorised by the Commissioner for a purpose, and only to the extent authorised:
      1. permitted under the agreement under which the information is accessed or obtained.

        1. Despite sections 18D to 18J and schedule 7, the Commissioner is not required to disclose any item of revenue information if the release of the information would adversely affect the integrity of the tax system or would prejudice the maintenance of the law.

        2. For the offences and related penalties,—

        3. by revenue officers, see section 143C:
          1. by persons other than revenue officers, see sections 143D to 143EB.

            Notes
            • Section 18: replaced, on , by section 10 of the Taxation (Annual Rates for 2018–19, Modernising Tax Administration, and Remedial Matters) Act 2019 (2019 No 5).