Cap. 372 Art. 4Official secrecy.

(1) Except as may be necessary for the purposes of the

Income Tax Acts, or where the Commissioner otherwise directs, every person having any official duty or being employed in the administration of the Income Tax Acts shall regard and deal with all documents, information, returns and assessments relating to the

Income Tax Acts, or copies thereof, as secret and confidential and shall make and subscribe before the Court of Appeal a declaration on oath to that effect in the form prescribed.

(2) No person appointed under or employed in carrying out the provisions of the Income Tax Acts shall be required to produce any return, document or assessment or to divulge or communicate any matter or thing coming under his notice in the performance of his duties under the Income Tax Acts except as may be necessary for the purpose of carrying into effect the provisions of the Income Tax Acts, or in the course of any judicial or quasi-judicial proceedings when ordered to disclose information by a court or tribunal or for the purpose, or in the course, of an investigation or a prosecution for any offence committed against any of the provisions of the Income Tax Acts, or in the course of an investigation or a prosecution for any relevant offence.

(2A) For the purposes of this article, "relevant offence" means a criminal offence, not being one of an involuntary nature, consisting of any act or omission which if committed in Malta, or in corresponding circumstances, would constitute an offence liable to the punishment of imprisonment or of detention for a term of one (1) year or more.

(3) Nothing contained in this article shall prejudice the international obligations that the Commissioner or any person referred to in sub-article (2) may have, including confidentiality obligations under arrangements made under article 76 of the Income Tax Act and regulations implementing EU Directives under article 52B of the Income Tax Act and shall not prevent the disclosure to any authorised representative of any other Government of such information as is required to be disclosed in terms of -

(a) any arrangement made under article 76 of the Income Tax Act including the disclosure of such facts as may be necessary to enable proper relief to be given in Malta or elsewhere under any such arrangement or under article 89 of the Income Tax Act;

(b) any other arrangement between Malta and other States or their tax authorities providing for the reciprocal exchange of information for tax purposes.

(4) (Deleted by Act XIII. 2015.120).

(5) (a) The Commissioner shall submit to the Speaker of the House of Representatives a certified statement showing the details of income declared by each Member of the House for the purpose of the Income Tax Acts from the year of assessment in which such Member first became a Member of the House and for every subsequent year of assessment up to and including the year of assessment following the year in which such Member ceases to be a Member of the House: Provided that if a Member having ceased to be a Member of the House as aforesaid again becomes a Member of the House, the Commissioner shall also submit to the Speaker the details of the income in respect of the period covering the years when such member ceased to be a Member until he again becomes a Member of the House.

(b) The Speaker of the House of Representatives shall, upon a request in writing by any Member of the House or by the editor responsible for any newspaper registered under the Media and Defamation Act, furnish such Member or editor with the details of income in respect of any year of assessment declared by any Member of the House for the purposes of the Income Tax Acts, provided that the details of income so requested have been made available to the Speaker under the provisions of paragraph (a) and that prior to giving such information the Speaker shall notify such Member whose details of income are being requested, with a copy of such request and of the reply being given.

(6) Notwithstanding anything contained in this article, the Commissioner may permit the Auditor General of the Government or any other officer duly authorised in that behalf by the Auditor General to have such access to any records or documents as may be necessary for the performance of his official duties. The Auditor General or any such officer shall be deemed to be a person employed in the administration of this Act for the purpose of this article.

(7) Notwithstanding anything contained in this article, the Commissioner may make use of the documents, information and returns relating to the income or items of income of any person for the purpose of the Duty on Documents and Transfers Act, and may produce or cause to be produced in court in any proceedings relating to duties levied or leviable, and for the collection of any penalty inflicted under such Act, a copy of any particulars contained in any document of return as aforesaid, certified by him or by the chairman of the Administrative Review Tribunal constituted under article 34 or by the Registrar of Courts, as the case may be, to be a correct copy of such particulars: Provided that the Commissioner may produce or cause to be produced the original of any such document or return in any case where it is necessary to prove the handwriting or the signature or the identity of the person who wrote, made, signed or furnished such document or return, but only for the purpose of such proof.

(8) Nothing in this article shall prevent the delivery of documents by the Commissioner in accordance with article 57. (9) Deleted by Act VIII.2021.8.