The Act that established HMRC made provision for the conduct of
staff in relation to confidentiality.
Section 18 of the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act
2005 (CRCA) makes it clear that you must not give
(‘disclose’) HMRC information to anyone, unless you
have lawful authority to do so. This includes other government
departments and their agencies, local authorities, the police or
any other public bodies.
See
IDG40500 for the circumstances in which
information may be disclosed outside HMRC.
There are criminal and other sanctions for those who disclose
information when there is not lawful authority to do so. See
IDG40750.
All new staff must sign a declaration of confidentiality upon
entering the department, as stipulated in section 3 CRCA. This will
be provided in the Manager’s Induction Pack. A copy can also
be found at
IDG90500.
