7 Confidentiality.

(1) In this section—

“declaration of confidentiality” means the declaration of confidentiality contained in the Schedule to this Act;

“special collection function” means any function or duty related to—

(a) the receipt and retention of declarations referred to in section 2 (3) (a) or 3 (6) (b),

(b) the receipt, recording and lodgement of—

(i) settlement amounts, or

(ii) so much of any payment or remittance referred to in section 3 (6) (a) as is referable to value-added tax, or

(c) the issue and recording of certificates referred to in section 2 (4) or 3 (6) (c),

which could result in the person or persons discharging that function or performing that duty acquiring, or having access to, any information in respect of such declarations, amounts or certificates, and a reference to the discharge of a special collection function shall be construed as a reference to the discharge of such a function or performance of such a duty;

“special collector” means any officer or employee of the Revenue Commissioners who—

(a) has been nominated by the Revenue Commissioners to discharge a special collection function, and has not had his nomination revoked, and

(b) has made and subscribed the declaration of confidentiality.

(2) (a) Special collection functions may only be discharged by special collectors.

(b) Every person nominated by the Revenue Commissioners to be a special collector shall, upon making and subscribing to the declaration of confidentiality, become a special collector.

(c) Declarations of confidentiality shall be made before a peace commissioner or other person duly authorised to take and receive statutory declarations.

(3) (a) Special collection functions shall be under the control and direction of a special collector, to be known as and is referred to in this Act as “the Chief Special Collector”, who is designated to be such by the Revenue Commissioners.

(b) Whenever there is no Chief Special Collector, the Revenue Commissioners shall designate as soon as is practicable thereafter a special collector to be the Chief Special Collector and all other special collectors shall observe and follow the orders, instructions and directions of the Chief Special Collector in relation to any special collection function:

Provided that nothing in paragraph (b) shall be construed so as to affect the proviso to subsection (6).

(c) For the purposes of the receipt of any declaration, amount or remittance, or the issue of any certificate or evidence, in accordance with section 2 or 3, references to the Chief Special Collector shall be construed as including a reference to any other special collector acting on behalf of the Chief Special Collector in that matter.

(d) If and so long as the Chief Special Collector is unable through illness, absence or other cause to fulfil his duties, another special collector designated in that behalf by the Revenue Commissioners shall act as Chief Special Collector, and any reference in this Act to the Chief Special Collector shall be construed as including, where appropriate, a reference to a special collector designated under this paragraph.

(4) A special collector shall be deemed to have contravened his declaration of confidentiality if he discloses, or causes to be disclosed, to a person who is not a special collector, any information which he could have acquired, or had access to, only by virtue of being a special collector:

Provided that a special collector shall not be deemed to have contravened his declaration of confidentiality where—

(a) having been requested to validate a certificate or evidence referred to in section 2 (4) or 3 (6) (c) by an officer of the Revenue Commissioners to whom that certificate or evidence has been produced for the purposes of section 5 or 6, as the case may be, he informs that officer whether or not that certificate or evidence, as the case may be, was given by a special collector,

(b) he provides to the Minister or the Revenue Commissioners such information, in the form of aggregates and in that form only, as the Minister or the Commissioners, as the case may be, may request in relation to—

(i) the total amount of—

(I) the declared amounts,

(II) settlement amounts, or

(III) such amounts of any payments or remittances referred to in section 3 (6) (a) as are referable to value-added tax remitted to the Chief Special Collector,

and

(ii) the total respective numbers of individuals who remitted amounts to the Chief Special Collector in respect of income, chargeable gains or value-added tax,

or

(c) he provides to the Comptroller and Auditor General or the Accounting Officer of the Revenue Commissioners such information as the Comptroller and Auditor General or that Accounting Officer, as the case may be, may request and reasonably require to ensure that any special collection function has been discharged in accordance with this Act.

(5) Any information acquired by the Comptroller and Auditor General or the Accounting Officer of the Revenue Commissioners by virtue of paragraph (c) of the proviso to subsection (4) shall be used by the Comptroller and Auditor General or that Accounting Officer, as the case may be, only for the purpose of ensuring that any special collection function has been discharged in accordance with this Act:

Provided that the foregoing provisions of this subsection shall not prevent the Comptroller and Auditor General from carrying out his functions, including exercising his reporting duty to Dáil Éireann.

(6) The Revenue Commissioners may make such nominations as are required for the purposes of this section and may at any time also revoke any such nomination:

Provided that the Revenue Commissioners may only revoke at any time the nomination of the special collector who is the Chief Special Collector where they also designate, with effect from that time, a special collector to be his successor as Chief Special Collector.