S.L. 460.9 Art. 5Information at the disposal of the competent authority.

(1) In order to obtain the information sought, the competent authority shall proceed as though acting on its own account or at the request of another authority in Malta.

(2) All information made known to the competent authority shall be kept secret in the same manner as information received under other national legislation. In any case, such information -

(a) may be made available only to the persons directly involved in the assessment of the tax or in the administrative control of this assessment;

(b) may be made known only in connection with judicial proceedings or administrative proceedings involving sanctions undertaken with a view to, or relating to, the making or reviewing the tax assessment and only to persons who are directly involved in such proceedings; such information may, however, be disclosed during public hearings or in judgements if the competent authority of the Member State supplying the information raises no objection at the time when it first supplies the information;

(c) shall in no circumstances be used other than for taxation purposes or in connection with judicial proceedings or administrative proceedings involving sanctions undertaken with a view to, or in relation to, the making or reviewing of the tax assessment.

(3) The information referred to in this article may be used for assessment of other levies, duties and taxes covered by Article 2 of Directive 76/308/EEC.