https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=150394 Section 57(1) of the Madras General Sales Tax Act, 1959 treats particulars in returns, accounts, registers, records and related documents as confidential and bars their disclosure. The statutory prohibition is not limited to the assessing officer; where disclosure is forbidden by the Act, the court also cannot compel production or admit the material in evidence. Disclosure is permitted only within the narrow exception in section 57(2)(iv), namely a civil suit to which the Government is a party and which concerns a matter arising out of proceedings under the Act. A prior contrary view was distinguished for not fully addressing the express confidentiality bar. en-us Fri, 02 Feb 1973 00:00:00 +0530 Wed, 15 May 2013 14:01:35 +0530 TaxTMI RSS Generator https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=150394 Section 57(1) of the Madras General Sales Tax Act, 1959 treats particulars in returns, accounts, registers, records and related documents as confidential and bars their disclosure. The statutory prohibition is not limited to the assessing officer; where disclosure is forbidden by the Act, the court also cannot compel production or admit the material in evidence. Disclosure is permitted only within the narrow exception in section 57(2)(iv), namely a civil suit to which the Government is a party and which concerns a matter arising out of proceedings under the Act. A prior contrary view was distinguished for not fully addressing the express confidentiality bar. Case-Laws VAT and Sales Tax Fri, 02 Feb 1973 00:00:00 +0530 https://www.taxtmi.com/caselaws?id=150394