Section 63B — Local Government Finance Act 1988: Restrictions on onward disclosure of Revenue and Customs information

Restrictions on onward disclosure of Revenue and Customs information 63B 1 Information disclosed under section 63A or this section may not be further disclosed unless that further disclosure is—

a to a qualifying person for a qualifying purpose, b for the purposes of the initiation or conduct of any proceedings relating to the enforcement of any obligation imposed by or under this Part of this Act, c in pursuance of a court order, d with the consent of each person to whom the information relates, or e required or permitted under any other enactment.

2 Information may not be disclosed under subsection (1)(a) to a qualifying person within section 63A(3)(c), (d), (e), (f) or (g) except with the consent of the Commissioners for Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (which may be general or specific).

3 Information disclosed to a qualifying person under this section may be retained and used for any qualifying purpose.

4 A person commits an offence if the person contravenes subsection (1) or (2) by disclosing information relating to a person whose identity—

a is specified in the disclosure, or b can be deduced from it.

5 It is a defence for a person charged with an offence under this section of disclosing information to prove that the person reasonably believed—

a that the disclosure was lawful, or b that the information had already lawfully been made available to the public.

6 A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable—

a on summary conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding the general limit in a magistrates’ court or to a fine, or to both;

b on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to a fine, or to both.

7 A prosecution for an offence under this section may be instituted only by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions.

8 In relation to an offence under this section committed before 2 May 2022 the reference in subsection (6)(a) to the general limit in a magistrates’ court is to be taken as a reference to 6 months.

9 This section is without prejudice to the pursuit of any remedy or the taking of any action in relation to a contravention of subsection (1) or (2) (whether or not subsection (4) applies to the contravention).

10 In this section— “ qualifying person ” has the same meaning as in section 63A; “ qualifying purpose ” has the same meaning as in that section.