Companies (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2013

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Disclosure of information to Director of Corporate Enforcement or his or her officers

6. The Company Law Enforcement Act 2001 is amended by substituting the following section for section 18—

“Disclosure of information to Director or officer of Director

18. (1) Notwithstanding any other law—

(a) the Competition Authority;

(b) a member of the Garda Síochána;

(c) an officer of the Revenue Commissioners;

(d) the Insolvency Service of Ireland;

(e) the Irish Takeover Panel; or

(f) such other authority or other person as may be prescribed,

may disclose to the Director or an officer of the Director information that, in the opinion of the authority or other person disclosing it—

(i) relates to the commission of an offence under the Companies Acts or non-compliance otherwise with those Acts or with the duties and obligations to which companies and their officers are subject; or

(ii) is information that could materially assist the Director or an officer of the Director in investigating—

(I) whether an offence under the Companies Acts has been committed or whether there has been non-compliance otherwise with those Acts or with the duties and obligations to which companies and their officers are subject; or

(II) without prejudice to the generality of clause (I), in a case where the making of an application for a disqualification order in relation to a particular person in accordance with section 160(2)(h) of the Act of 1990 is contemplated, whether and to what extent the matters mentioned in section 160(3A) of that Act apply in the circumstances concerned.

(2) Without prejudice to the generality of subsection (1), an officer of the Revenue Commissioners shall, notwithstanding any other law, be permitted to give or produce evidence relating to taxpayer information (within the meaning of section 851A (inserted by the Finance Act 2011 ) of the Taxes Consolidation Act 1997 ) in connection with any proceedings initiated under the Companies Acts.

(3) For the avoidance of doubt, the fact that particular circumstances specified in subsection (1)(i) or (ii) have been invoked by an authority or other person as the basis for disclosure by it or him or her of information under that subsection shall not prevent the Director or an officer of the Director from using the information in relation to other circumstances specified in subsection (1)(i) or (ii).

(4) In this section ‘officer’, in relation to a company, means any director, shadow director (within the meaning of the Act of 1990), promoter, receiver, liquidator, examiner, auditor or secretary of the company.”.