Section 154: Secrecy

154. Secrecy (1) Subject to subsection (4) and section 76, every officer shall— (a) before he begins to perform his duties under this Act, take an oath of fidelity and secrecy in conformity with this section; and (b) maintain and aid in maintaining the confidentiality and secrecy of any matter relating to this Act which comes to his knowledge. (2) Except for the purpose of— (a) this Act; (b) any other revenue law; (c) the National Pensions (Registration of Employers) Regulations 1977; (d) the Statistics Act; (e) notifying the Board of Investment under the Investment Promotion Act that a non-citizen— (i) has not satisfied or is not satisfying the criteria referred to in items 1, 2 and 3 of Part I and Part II of the Schedule to the Investment Promotion Act; or (ii) no more satisfies the requirements of section 5A (5AA) (a) of the Immigration Act; (f) the Prevention of Corruption Act; or (g) the Dangerous Drugs Act, or where he is authorised in writing to do so by the Minister, no officer shall communicate to any person any matter relating to this Act. (2A) Notwithstanding subsection (2) (d), no officer shall, for the purpose of the Statistics Act, disclose the name of an individual. (3) Except where it is necessary to do so for the purpose of administering this Act or any other revenue law, or the National Pensions (Registration of Employers) Regulations 1977 or in any proceedings instituted under the Prevention of Corruption Act, no officer shall be required to produce in any Court any document or divulge or communicate to any Court any matter coming to his knowledge in the performance of his duties as an officer. (4) Nothing in this section shall prevent the disclosure to a taxpayer or, with his written consent, to any other person of— (a) a document submitted to the Director-General by the taxpayer; (b) an assessment made upon the taxpayer; or (c) the amount of income tax paid or due by the taxpayer. (4A) Notwithstanding subsections (1) to (4), any officer may exchange information in respect of all the taxes falling under the purview of the Multilateral Convention on Mutual Administrative Assistance in Tax Matters signed by Mauritius. I5 – 94 (5) [Issue 9] Income Tax Act (5) Any officer who, without lawful excuse, contravenes this section shall commit an offence and shall, on conviction, be liable to a fine not exceeding 5,000 rupees and to imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years. [S. 154 added by s. 12 (x) Act 25 of 2000 w.e.f. 11 August 2000; amended by s. 11 (s) of Act 28 of 2004 w.e.f. 26 August 2004; s. 15 (p) of Act 18 of 2008 w.e.f. 19 July 2008; s. 13 (b) of Act 20 of 2011 w.e.f. 16 July 2011; s. 8 (zo) of Act 37 of 2011 w.e.f. 15 December 2011; s. 9 (p) of Act 26 of 2013 w.e.f. 1 January 2014 in respect of the income year commencing on 1 January 2014 and in respect of every subsequent income year; s. 24 (zo) of Act 9 of 2015 w.e.f. 14 May 2015.]