Information Commissioner's Office

HM Revenue and Customs

4 August 2008, Central government

The complainant, a firm of accountants, asked HMRC to provide various pieces of internal correspondence which related to the tax affairs of one of its clients. HMRC initially refused to disclose any information on the basis of the exemption contained at section 31(1)(d) of the Act. HMRC subsequently provided the complainant with copies of the correspondence but with redactions made on the basis of 31(1)(d). During the course of the Commissioner’s investigation HMRC then withdrew its reliance on section 31(1)(d) and argued that the redacted information was exempt on the basis of section 44(1)(a) of the Act because of the prohibition on disclosure provided by the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005. The Commissioner has concluded that the redacted information is exempt on the basis of section 44(1)(a) but has also found that HMRC committed a number of procedural breaches in handling this request.

FOI 44: Not upheld FOI 1: Upheld FOI 10: Upheld