Section 39 in Himachal Pradesh General Sales Tax Act, 1968
39. Returns etc. to be confidential.
(1)All particulars contained in any statement made, return furnished or accounts or documents produced in accordance with this Act, or in any record of evidence given in the course of any proceedings under this Act other than proceedings before a criminal court, shall, save as provided in sub-section (3), be treated as confidential and notwithstanding anything contained in the Indian Evidence Act, 1872 (1 of 1872), no court shall, save as aforesaid, be entitled to require any officer of the Himachal Pradesh Government to produce before it any such statement, return, accounts, document or record or any part thereof, or to give evidence before it in respect thereof.(2)If, save as provided in sub-section (3), any officer of the Himachal Pradesh Government discloses any of the particulars referred to in sub-section (1), he shall be punishable with imprisonment which may extend to six months, and shall also be liable to fine.(3)[ Nothing contained in this section shall apply to the disclosure-(a)of any such particulars in respect of any such statement, return, accounts, documents, evidence, affidavit or deposition for the purpose of any prosecution under this Act or the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (45 of 1860); or(b)of any such particulars to any person entrusted with the administration of this Act for the purposes of carrying out the objects of this Act;(c)of any such particulars when such disclosure is occasioned by the lawful employment under this Act of any process for the service of any notice or summons or the recovery of any demand; or(d)of any such particulars to a civil court in any suit to which the Government in the Excise and Taxation Department or any officer of the said Department is a party and which relates to any matter arising out of any proceeding under this Act; or(e)of any such particulars to any officer appointed to audit receipts or refunds of the tax imposed by this Act; or(f)of any such particulars where such particulars are relevant to any inquiry into the conduct of an official of the Excise and Taxation Department of the State Government to any person or persons appointed by the Commissioner under the Public Servants (Inquiries) Act, 1850 (XXX of 1850), or to any officer otherwise appointed to hold such inquiry or to a Public Service Commission established under the Constitution when exercising its functions in relation to any matter arising out of such inquiry; or(g)of the annual gross turnover, shown in any return furnished or determined in any assessment order passed under this Act, to any officer of the Central or any State Government as may be necessary for the purpose of enabling that Government to levy or realise any tax or duty imposed by it; or(h)of any such particulars which are relevant to any inquiry into the charge of misconduct, against an income-tax practitioner or other person who represents any assessee before any authority in any proceedings under this Act; or(i)of any such particulars to the Director of Economics and Statistics department of the Government of Himachal Pradesh as may be necessary for enabling him to work out the incidence of tax on any commodity or for carrying out any statistical survey of trade, commodity or dealer; and(j)of any such particulars for the purpose of preparing date by computerisation:Provided that the information mentioned in clauses (a), (f) and (g) may be permitted to be disclosed by the Assistant Excise and Taxation Commissioner or the Excise and Taxation Officer-in-charge of the district only when he is satisfied, after scrutiny of the request made in this behalf and after such enquires as he considers necessary, that the disclosure is admissible under this sub-section.] [Substituted vide Act No. 14 of 1994 Sec. 6.]
