Disclosure of fiscal secrecy in the light of Article 299b of the Tax Ordinance Act

Abstract

This paper addresses the subject matter of a disclosure of information constituting fiscal secrets made by tax authorities on the ground of Article 299b of the Tax Ordinance Act. The Author demonstrates that a Head of the National Revenue Administration gives his/her consent to the heads of tax offices, heads of customs and fiscal offices and directors of tax administration chambers to reveal certain information constituting fiscal secrets. This consent is given under administrative discretion by means of under-defined terms (general clauses). An act of the Head of the National Revenue Administration poses a significant risk, which in principle generates interpretation ambiguities. The analysed provision (without any doubts) requires immediate “correction” since it does not guarantee appropriate protection of tax-payers’ rights owing to the broad range of entities who may request the Head of the National Revenue Administration to reveal a fiscal secret.

Keywords

• fiscal secret
• tax authority
• fiscal authority
• tax ordinance act
• national revenue administration
• head of the national revenue administration