ICO Decision On PATI Request To OTC
Acting Information Commissioner Answer Styannes issued Decision 23/2023 in regards to the Office of the Tax Commissioner [OTC].
A spokesperson said, “On 17 August 2023, Acting Information Commissioner Answer Styannes issued Decision 23/2023, Office of the Tax Commissioner [OTC]. The Applicant had submitted a Public Access to Information [PATI] request to the OTC for tax debt records.
“The OTC’s internal review decision refused access to certain responsive records under the exemption in section 34[1][c] of the PATI Act [prejudice to fair trial]. During the Information Commissioner’s independent review, a Third Party objected to any of its records being disclosed under the commercial information exemptions in sections 25[1][a], [b] and [c] of the PATI Act.
“In her Decision, the Acting Information Commissioner varied the OTC’s internal review decision, finding that the OTC was not justified in relying on section 34[1][c] and also confirmed that the Third Party was justified in asserting that certain records that pertained to their business were exempt under section 25[1][c] [adverse effect on commercial interests]. She also found that two records identified during her independent review were responsive to the PATI request and must be processed by the OTC.
“As a result, the Acting Information Commissioner has ordered the OTC to disclose the non-exempt parts of the records and to issue an initial decision on the newly identified responsive records on or before Thursday, 28 September 2023.”
The full version of Decision 23/2023 follows below [PDF here]:
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