1) Every person employed or engaged by the Commissioner in carrying out the provisions of this Act shall preserve and aid in preserving secrecy with regard to all matters that may come to his or her knowledge in the performance of his or her duties in connection with those provisions, and shall not communicate any such matter to any person whatsoever other than the taxpayer concerned or his or her lawful representative nor suffer or permit any such person to have access to any records in the possession or custody of the Commissioner except in the performance of his or her duties under this Act or by order of a competent court: Provided that--
a) any information obtained by the Commissioner in the performance of his duties under the provisions of this Act or any previous Income Tax Act may be used by him for the purposes of the provisions of any other fiscal law administered by him;
b) the Auditor-General shall in the performance of his duties in terms of section 3 of the Auditor-General Act, 1995 (Act No. 12 of 1995), have access to documents in the possession or custody of the Commissioner;
c) the provisions of this subsection shall not be construed as preventing the Commissioner from--
i) disclosing to the Statistician-General such information in relation to any person as may be required by such Statistician-General in connection with the collection of statistics in complying with the provisions of the Statistics Act, 1999 (Act No. 6 of 1999), or any rule made thereunder; or
ii) publishing a list of approved public benefit organisations for the purposes of the provisions of sections 18A and 30.
iii) disclosing to the Governor of the South African Reserve Bank or any other person whom the powers, functions and duties have been delegated by the Minister in terms of Exchange Control Regulations, 1961, issued in terms of section 9 of the Currency and Exchanges Act, 1933 (Act No. 9 of 1933), such information as may be required for purposes of exercising any power or performing any function or duty in terms of those Regulations, or
iv) disclosing to an employer (as defined in the Fourth Schedule) of an employee (as defined in the Fourth Schedule), the income tax reference number, identity number, physical or postal address of that employee and such other non-financial information in relation to that employee, as that employer may require in order to comply with its obligations in terms of this Act;
d) the provisins of this subsection shall not be construed as preventing the Commissioner from disclosing to the Board administering the National Student Financial Aid Scheme, any information relating to the name and address of the employer of any borrower or bursar to whom any loan or bursary has been granted in terms of such scheme.
e) the Commissioner shall disclose information in respect of—
i) any taxpayer which is an institution contemplated in section 3(1) of the Public Finance Management Act, 1999 (Act No. 1 of 1999), or an entity contemplated in section 3 of the Local Government: Municipal Finance Management Act, 2003 (Act No. 56 of 2003), to the extent necessary for performing the functions and exercising the powers of the National Treasury in terms of those Acts; or
ii) any class of taxpayers to the extent necessary for the purposes of tax policy design or revenue estimation.
1A) The Statictician-General or any person acting under the direction and control of such Statistician-General, shall not disclose any information supplied under subsection (1)(c) to any person or permit any person to have access thereto, except in the exercise of his powers or the carrying out of his duties to publish statistics in any anonymous form.
1B) The Commissioner may apply ex parte to a judge in chambers for an order allowing him or her to disclose to the National Commissioner of the South African Police Service, contemplated in section 6(1) of the South African Police Services Act, 1995 (Act No. 68 og 1995), or the National Director of public prosecutions, contemplated in section 5(2)(a) of the National Prosecuting Authority Act, 1998 (Act No. 32 of 1998), such information, which may reveal evidence-
a) that an offence, other than an offence in terms of this Act or any other Act administered by the Commissioner or any other offence in respect of which the commissioner is a complainant, has been or may be committed, or where such information may be relevant to the investigation or prosecution of such an offence, and such offence is a serious offence in respect of which a court may impose a sentence of imprisonment exceeding five years; or
b) of an imminent and serious public safety or environmental risk, and where the public interest in the disclosure of the information outweighs any potential harm to the taxpayer concerned should such information be disclosed: Provided that any information, document or thing provided by a taxpayer in any return or document, or obtained from a taxpayer in terms of section 74A, 74B or 74C, which is disclosed in terms of this subsection, shall not, unless a competent court otherwise directs, be admissible in any criminal proceedings against such taxpayer, to the extent that such information, document or thing constitutes an admission by such taxpayer of the commission of an offence contemplated in paragraph (a).
1C) For the purposes of subsection 1(b), the Commissioner may delegate the powers vested in him or her by that subsection, to any other officer.
1D) The Director-General or any peson acting under the direction and control of such Director-General shall not disclose any information supplied under subsection (1)(e) to any other person or permit any other person to have access thereto, except in the performance of any function contemplated in subsection (1) (e).
1E) The National Police Commissioner or the National Director of Public Prosecutions or any person acting under the direction and control of such National Police Commissioner or National Director of Public Prosecutions, shall not disclose any information supplied under subsection (1B) to any other person or permit any other person to have access thereto, except in the exercise of his or her powers or the carrying out of his or her duties –
a) for purposes of any investigation of, or prosecution for, an offence contemplated in subsection (1B); or
b) to combat any public safety or environmental risk contemplated in subsection (1B).
2)
a) Every person employed or engaged, as contemplated in section (1), shall, before acting under this Act, take and subscribe before a magistrate or justice of the peace or a commissioner of oaths, such oath or solemn declaration, as the case may be, of fidelity or secrecy as may be prescribed.
b) Any oath of secrecy taken and subscribed under the provisions of any previous Income Tax Act by any person who is employed in carrying out the provisions of this Act shall be deemed to be an oath taken and subscribed in terms of this sub-section.
c) The Director-General of the National Treasury, and any person acting under the direction and control of that Director-General, who performs any function as contemplated in subsection (1)(e), shall take and subscribe before a magistrate or justice of the peace or a commissioner of oaths, such oath or solemn declaration, as the case may be, of fidelity or secrecy as may be prescribed.
2A) No person shall in any manner publish or make known to any other person (not being an officer carrying out his duties under the control, direction or supervision of the Commissioner) the contents or tenor of any instruction or communication given or made by the Commissioner or any such officer in the performance of his or their duties under this Act for or concerning the examination or investigation of the affairs of any taxpayer or class of taxpayers or the fact that such instruction or communication has been given or made, or any information concerning the tax matters of a taxpayer or class of taxpayers: Provided that the provisions of this subsection shall not be construed--
i) as preventing any taxpayer or his representative who is or may be affected by any such examination, investigation or furnishing of information from publishing or making known information concerning his own tax matters; or
ii) subject to the provisions of subsection (1). as in any way limiting the duties powers of the Commissioner or any such officer; or
iii) as preventing any person from publishing or making known anything which has been published or made known by the taxpayer or his representative as contemplated in paragraph (i) or by the Commissioner or any such officer in the exercise of his duties or powers.
2B) The provisions of this section shall not apply in respect of any information relating to any person, where that person has consented that such information may be published or made known to any other person.
3) Any person who contravenes the provisions of subsection (1), (1A), (1D), (1E) or (2A), shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine or to imprisonment for a period not exceeding two years.
4) Any person employed or engaged as contemplated in sebsection 1 who carries out any provisions of the Act as contemplated in subsection 1 before he or she has taken the prescribed oath or solemn declaration shall be guilty of an offence and liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding R500.