RSTP9001 - Taxpayer information

Introduction to Chapter 9 of the RSTPA 2014 legislation guidance covering the use and protection of taxpayer information which Revenue Scotland holds.

We will protect and handle any taxpayer information with care. This guidance reflects the provisions of Part 3 of the RSTPA 2014 (information) which provides special legislative protection for taxpayer information. This is additional and complementary to the protections in the Data Protection Act 1998 which are explained in our Privacy Policy.

Unless indicated otherwise, in this chapter of guidance:

  • ‘protected taxpayer information’ (or ‘PTI’) means identifiable information about a person held by us (or RoS or SEPA), where we have delegated a tax function to either under section 4 of the RSTPA 2014 – information about those delegations will be published in due course on our website in connection with one of our tax functions.
  • Where RoS or SEPA hold PTI in connection with carrying out a delegated tax function, we (Revenue Scotland) remain the ‘data controller’ for the PTI for the purposes of the Data Protection Act 1998.
  • PTI does not include identifiable information held in relation to our internal administrative arrangements or those of RoS or SEPA, such as information about staff or contractors. Such information is nevertheless likely to fall within our Privacy Policy.
  • ‘Identifiable information’ is information that either specifically identifies the person or from which the person’s identity can be deduced, whether alone or in combination with other disclosed information. This guidance places no restriction on the use, sharing and disclosure of non-identifying information.
  • ‘Persons’ in the context of PTI includes both natural and legal persons so individuals and corporations are equivalently protected. This is different from the Data Protection Act 1998 which does not regulate the processing of data about non-natural persons. Information about a taxpayer’s personal or business associates (for example family members or business partners) can also fall within the scope of PTI.

RSTPA 2014 section 14

  • ‘we’, ‘us’ or ‘our’ means Revenue Scotland; and

     
  • ‘you’ or ‘your’ means a person who we (or RoS or SEPA) hold information about in connection with a tax function.

The guidance is structured as follows: