§ 496-A — Returns to be secret

§ 496-a. Returns to be secret. (a) Except in accordance with proper\njudicial order or as in this section or otherwise provided by law, it\nshall be unlawful for the commissioner, any officer or employee of the\ndepartment, or any officer or person who, pursuant to this section, is\npermitted to inspect any return or report or to whom a copy, an abstract\nor a portion of any return or report is furnished, or to whom any\ninformation contained in any return or report is furnished, or any\nperson who in any manner may acquire knowledge of the contents of a\nreturn or report filed pursuant to this article to divulge or make known\nin any manner the content or any other information contained in any\nreturn or report required under this article. The officers charged with\nthe custody of such returns or reports shall not be required to produce\nany of them or evidence of anything contained in them in any action or\npreceding in any court, except on behalf of the state, the office of\ncannabis management, or the commissioner in an action or proceeding\ninvolving the collection of tax due under this chapter to which the\nstate or the commissioner is a party or a claimant or on behalf of any\nparty to any action or proceeding under the provisions of this article,\nwhen the returns or the reports or the facts shown thereby are directly\ninvolved in such action or proceeding, or in an action or proceeding\nrelated to the regulation or taxation of adult-use cannabis products on\nbehalf of officers to whom information shall have been supplied as\nprovided in this section, in any of which events the court may require\nthe production of, and may admit in evidence so much of said returns or\nreports or of the facts shown thereby as are pertinent to the action or\nproceeding and no more. Nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit\nthe commissioner, in his or her discretion, from allowing the inspection\nor delivery of a certified copy of any return or report filed under this\narticle or of any information contained in any such return or report by\nor to a duly authorized officer or employee of the office of cannabis\nmanagement; or by or to the attorney general or other legal\nrepresentatives of the state when an action shall have been recommended\nor commenced pursuant to this chapter in which such returns or reports\nor the facts shown thereby are directly involved; or the inspection of\nthe returns or reports required under this article by the comptroller or\nduly designated officer or employee of the state department of audit and\ncontrol, for purposes of the audit of a refund of any tax paid by any\nperson under this article; nor to prohibit the delivery to such person\nor a duly authorized representative of such person, a certified copy of\nany return or report filed by such person pursuant to this article, nor\nto prohibit the publication of statistics so classified as to prevent\nthe identification of particular returns or reports and the items\nthereof. This section shall also not be construed to prohibit the\ndisclosure, for tax administration purposes, to the division of the\nbudget and the office of the state comptroller, of information\naggregated from the returns filed by all persons subject to the taxes\nimposed by the article, whether the number of such persons is one or\nmore. Provided further that, notwithstanding the provisions of this\nsubdivision, the commissioner may, in his or her discretion, permit the\nproper officer of any county entitled to receive any distribution of the\nmonies received on account of the tax imposed by subdivision (c) of\nsection four hundred ninety-three of this article, or the authorized\nrepresentative of such officer, to inspect any return filed under this\narticle, or may furnish to such officer or the officer's authorized\nrepresentative an abstract of any such return or supply such officer or\nrepresentative with information concerning an item contained in any such\nreturn, or disclosed by any investigation of tax liability under this\narticle.\n (b) The commissioner, in his or her discretion, may permit the\nappropriate officers of any other state that regulates or taxes cannabis\nor the duly authorized representatives of any such officers, to inspect\nreturns or reports made pursuant to this article, or may furnish to such\nother officers, or their duly authorized representatives, a copy of any\nsuch return or report or an abstract of the information therein\ncontained, or any portion thereof, or may supply any such officers or\nsuch representatives with information relating to the business of a\nperson making returns or reports hereunder solely for purposes of tax\nadministration. The commissioner may refuse to supply information\npursuant to this subdivision to the officers of any other state if the\nstatutes of the state represented by such officers do not grant\nsubstantially similar privileges to the commissioner, but such refusal\nshall not be mandatory. Information shall not be supplied to the\nofficers of any state that regulates or taxes cannabis, or their duly\nauthorized representatives of any such officers, unless such officer or\nother representatives shall agree not to divulge or make known in any\nmanner the information so supplied, but such officers may transmit such\ninformation to their employees or legal representatives when necessary,\nwho in turn shall be subject to the same restrictions as those hereby\nimposed upon such officer or other representatives.\n (c)(1) Any officer or employee of the state who willfully violates the\nprovisions of subdivision (a) or (b) of this section shall be dismissed\nfrom office and be incapable of holding any public office in this state\nfor a period of five years thereafter.\n (2) For criminal penalties, see article thirty-seven of this chapter.\n