Disclosure of information by public servant

Section 90 of the Bihar Value Added Tax Act, 2005 deals with disclosure of information by public servant. 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 proceeding before a criminal court), or in any record of any assessment proc The Act came into force on 23 Jun 2005.

(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 proceeding before a criminal court), or in any record of any assessment proceeding, or any proceeding relating to the recovery of a demand, prepared for the purposes of this Act, 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 servant of the Government to produce before it any such statement, return, account, 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 servant of the Government discloses any of the particulars referred to in sub-section (1), he shall, on conviction, be punished with imprisonment, which may extend to six months or with fine or with both.

(3) Nothing in this section shall apply to the disclosure of any of the particulars, referred to in subsection (1), made--

(a) for the purposes of a prosecution under the Indian Penal Code, 1860 (45 of 1860) in respect of any statement, return, accounts, registers, documents or evidence, or any part thereof; or

(b) for the purposes of a prosecution under this Act; or

(c) for regulating any inquiry under the Public Servant (Inquiries) Act, 1850 (37 of 1850), into the conduct or behaviour of any authority or Inspector appointed under section 10 or an officer of the Bureau of Investigation constituted under section 86 or into the behaviour of any other officer appointed to conduct such inquiry; or

(d) in connection with the trial of a suit in a civil court to which the State of Bihar is a party and which relates to any matter arising out of any proceeding under this Act; or

(e) for the purposes of enabling an officer of the Central Government or of any State Government to levy or recover any tax or duty imposed by it; or

(f) to any officer of the State Government where it is necessary to make such disclosure for the purposes of this Act; or

(g) to any officer of the Central Government or of the State Government for the purpose of enabling such officer to perform his executive functions relating to the affairs of the Union or the State.

Section 90, The Bihar Value Added Tax Act, 2005 (Act 27 of 2005).