Page 592 - SAIT Compendium 2016 Volume1

s 67 TAX ADMINISTRATION ACT 28 OF 2011 s 69
prescribed form, must be taken before a magistrate, justice of the peace or commissioner of oaths by—
(a) a SARS of cial and the Tax Ombud, before
commencing duties or exercising any powers under a
tax Act; and
(b) a person referred to in section 70 who performs
any function referred to in that section, before the
disclosure described in that section may be made.
(3) In the event of the disclosure of SARS con dential information or taxpayer information contrary to this Chapter, the person to whom it was so disclosed may not in any manner disclose, publish or make it known to any
other person who is not a SARS of cial.
(4) A person who receives information under section 68,
69, 70 or 71, must preserve the secrecy of the information and may only disclose the information to another person if the disclosure is necessary to perform the functions speci ed in those sections.
(5) The Commissioner may, for purposes of protecting the integrity and reputation of SARS as an organisation and after giving the taxpayer at least 24 hours’ notice, disclose taxpayer information to the extent necessary to counter or rebut false allegations or information disclosed by the taxpayer, the taxpayer’s duly authorised representative or other person acting under the instructions of the taxpayer and published in the media or in any other manner.
68 SARS con dential information and disclosure
(1) “SARS con dential information” means informa- tion relevant to the administration of a tax Act that is—
(a) personal information about a current or former SARS
of cial, whether deceased or not;
(b) information subject to legal professional privilege
vested in SARS;
(c) information that was supplied in con dence by a
third party to SARS the disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to prejudice the future supply of similar information, or information from the same source;
(d) information related to investigations and prosecutions described in section 39 of the Promotion of Access to Information Act;
(e) information related to the operations of SARS, including an opinion, advice, report, recommendation or an account of a consultation, discussion or deliberation that has occurred, if—
(i) the information was given, obtained or prepared by or for SARS for the purpose of assisting to formulate a policy or take a decision in the exercise of a power or performance of a duty conferred or imposed by law; and
(ii) the disclosure of the information could reasonably be expected to frustrate the deliberative process in SARS or between SARS and other organs of state by—
(aa) inhibiting the candid communication of an opinion, advice, report or recommendation or conduct of a consultation, discussion or deliberation; or
(bb) frustrating the success of a policy or contemplated policy by the premature disclosure thereof;
(f) information about research being or to be carried out by or on behalf of SARS, the disclosure of which would be likely to prejudice the outcome of the research;
(g) information, the disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to prejudice the economic interests or
nancial welfare of the Republic or the ability of the government to manage the economy of the Republic effectively in the best interests of the Republic, including a contemplated change or decision to change a tax or a duty, levy, penalty, interest and similar moneys imposed under a tax Act or the Customs and Excise Act;
[NB: Para. (g) has been substituted (by the deletion of the words ‘or the Customs and Excise Act’) by s. 46 (1) of the Tax Administration Laws Amendment Act, 2015, a provision that will come into operation immediately after the Customs Control Act 31 of 2014 has taken effect in terms of s. 944 (1) of that Act.]
(h) information supplied in con dence by or on behalf of another state or an international organisation to SARS;
(i) a computer program, as de ned in section 1 (1) of the Copyright Act, 1978 (Act 98 of 1978), owned by
SARS;
(j) information relating to the security of SARS
buildings, property, structures or systems; and
(k) information relating to the veri cation or audit selection procedure or method used by SARS, the disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to
jeopardise the effectiveness thereof.
[Para. (k) added by s. 40 (c) of Act 39 of 2013 – date of commencement deemed to have been 1 October 2012.]
(2) A person who is a current or former SARS of cial— (a) may not disclose SARS con dential information to a
person who is not a SARS of cial;
(b) may not disclose SARS con dential information to a
SARS of cial who is not authorised to have access to
the information; and
(c) must take the precautions that may be required by
the Commissioner to prevent a person referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) from obtaining access to the information.
(3) A person who is a SARS of cial or former SARS of cial may disclose SARS con dential information if— (a) the information is public information;
(b) authorised by the Commissioner;
(c) disclosure is authorised under any other Act which expressly provides for the disclosure of the information despite the provisions in this Chapter;
(d) access has been granted for the disclosure of the information in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act; or
(e) required by order of a High Court.
69 Secrecy of taxpayer information and general disclosure
(1) A person who is a current or former SARS of cial must preserve the secrecy of taxpayer information and may not disclose taxpayer information to a person who is not a SARS of cial.
(2) Subsection (1) does not prohibit the disclosure of taxpayer information by a person who is a current or former SARS of cial—
(a) in the course of performance of duties under a tax Act
or customs and excise legislation, such as—
[Words preceding sub-para. (i) substituted by s. 47 of Tax Administration Laws Amendment Act, 2015 – date of commencement: date of promulgation of Tax Administration Laws Amendment Act, 2015.]
Prelex
Words preceding sub-para. (i) in force until promulgation of Tax Administration Laws Amendment Act, 2015
(a) in the course of performance of duties under a tax
Act, including—
584 SAIT CompendIum oF TAx LegISLATIon VoLume 1