Information we will not disclose under FOI

Release of information under FOI is release to the world. Public authorities are not allowed to take account of the identity of the person making the request, or their motives, when deciding what information will be disclosed in response to an FOI request.

To carry out its functions HMRC holds confidential customer information. When HMRC was created in April 2005, Parliament decided that any information held for an HMRC function that identifies a 'person', (including legal entities such as limited companies), or which would enable their identity to be deduced, is exempt from disclosure under the FOI regime. The provision is set out in Section 23 of the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act (2005) and applies even if the requestor is an individual asking for information we hold about them, or a director asking for our information about their company.

Individuals can make a request for information we hold about them under the Data Protection Act.

All other requests for confidential information should be made to the relevant operational unit within HMRC, which will consider whether we are able to release any information on a discretionary basis, under our normal business as usual arrangements.