Corporation Tax Act 2009 section 1216CN

Wrongful disclosure

Section 1216CN creates a criminal offence for the wrongful disclosure of confidential information obtained through the orchestra tax relief process, and sets out the available defences and penalties.

• It is a criminal offence to disclose information about an identifiable person in breach of the confidentiality rules in section 1216CM
• A person charged with this offence may defend themselves by showing they reasonably believed the disclosure was lawful, or that the information was already in the public domain
• Penalties on conviction range up to two years' imprisonment or a fine (or both) on indictment, or up to 12 months' imprisonment or a fine up to a statutory limit on summary conviction
• Prosecutions in England and Wales may only be brought by the Director of Revenue and Customs Prosecution or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions; in Northern Ireland, by HMRC Commissioners or with the consent of the Director of Public Prosecutions for Northern Ireland