IDG50860 | National Security & Investment act 2021

National Security & Investment act 2021

S.54 of the National Security & Investment Act (NS&I) 2021 provides a legal gateway that enables public authorities, including HMRC, to disclose information to the Secretary of State for the purposes of carrying out functions under the NS&I legislation.

The NS&I legislation creates functions to enhance the government’s ability to investigate and where appropriate intervene in mergers, acquisitions and other deals that could threaten UK national security. This includes determining whether certain business transactions present a national security risk and taking interventions where necessary.

The type of information that is likely to be requested under the NS&I legal gateway may include;

• Personal information - Personal information including relating to income and, if appropriate, tax compliance relating to directors, relatives, dependents and associates linked with companies involved in events that trigger a national security assessment.

• Business information - Information relating to businesses involved in events that trigger a national security assessment including size of the organisation and number of employees, business sector the entity operates in, tax compliance of the businesses (if deemed necessary), information about domestic and business properties, suppliers and service providers, agents and representatives.

The level of information that can be disclosed is likely to vary from one request to another. You will need to ensure any disclosure is limited to what is relevant, adequate but no more than the minimum necessary to achieve the specified purpose in the request; usually this will be the information DBT require to carry out an investigation into a transaction or taken intervention action if needed.

Any requests for onward disclosure by anyone who receives HMRC information originally supplied under s.54 of the NS&I will need HMRC consent as stipulated in s.55 of the NS&I act.

All requests for information sharing and onward disclosure consent under the NS&I legal gateway should be routed through the central data sharing front door team for impacting and consideration. Please contact [email protected] for more information and for a copy of the business case template that will need to be submitted.

If you have any queries or are unclear about supplying information under the NS&I legal gateway please consult with your Security & Information Business Partner in the first instance.