Corporation Tax Act 2009 section 1207

Wrongful disclosure

Section 1207 creates a criminal offence for the unauthorised disclosure of revenue and customs information where the identity of the person to whom the information relates is revealed or can be deduced.

• It is a criminal offence to disclose revenue and customs information about a person in breach of the confidentiality requirements in section 1206(3), where that disclosure identifies the individual or allows their identity to be worked out.
• A person charged with this offence has a statutory defence if they can show they reasonably believed the disclosure was lawful, or that the information had already been lawfully made available to the public.
• On summary conviction (in a magistrates' court), the maximum penalty is imprisonment for up to 12 months, a fine, or both.
• On conviction on indictment (in a Crown Court), the maximum penalty is imprisonment for up to 2 years, a fine, or both.