Section 63B | Restrictions on onward disclosure of Revenue and Customs information ^F1

(1)Information disclosed under section 63A or this section may not be further disclosed unless that further disclosure is—^F1

(a)to a qualifying person for a qualifying purpose,^F1

(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,^F1

(c)in pursuance of a court order,^F1

(d)with the consent of each person to whom the information relates, or^F1

(e)required or permitted under any other enactment.^F1

(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).^F1

(3)Information disclosed to a qualifying person under this section may be retained and used for any qualifying purpose.^F1

(4)A person commits an offence if the person contravenes subsection (1) or (2) by disclosing information relating to a person whose identity—^F1

(a)is specified in the disclosure, or^F1

(b)can be deduced from it.^F1

(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—^F1

(a)that the disclosure was lawful, or^F1

(b)that the information had already lawfully been made available to the public.^F1

(6)A person guilty of an offence under this section is liable—^F1

(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;^F1F2

(b)on conviction on indictment, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or to a fine, or to both.^F1

(7)A prosecution for an offence under this section may be instituted only by or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions.^F1

(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.^F1F3F4

(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).^F1

(10)In this section—^F1

“qualifying person” has the same meaning as in section 63A;

“qualifying purpose” has the same meaning as in that section.