Section 92. Disclosure of information by a public servant

(1) All particulars contained in any statement made or return furnished or accounts or documents produced in accordance with the provisions of this Act, or any record of evidence given in the course of any proceedings under this Act ( other than proceedings before a criminal court), shall, save as provided in sub-section (3) be treated as confidential and no court shall save as aforesaid, be entitled to require any servant of the Government to produce before it any statement, declaration, return, accounts, document or record or any part thereof, or to give evidence before it in respect thereof.

(2) Nothing contained in this section shall apply to the disclosure,-

(a) of any such particulars in respect of any such statement, return, account, document evidence, affidavit or deposition for the purpose of any prosecution under the Indian Penal Code,1860 or the Prevention of Corruption Act, 1988, or this Act, or

(b) of any such particulars to the State Government or to any person acting in the execution of this Act, for the purpose of carrying out the object of this Act, or

(c) of any such particulars when such disclosure is occasioned by the lawful employment under this Act, of any process for the service of any notice or the recovery of any demand. or

(d) of any such particulars to a civil court in any suit, to which the Government is a party, which relates to any matter arising out of any proceedings under this Act, or

(e) of any such particulars to any officer appointed to audit, receipt or refund of the tax imposed by this Act, or

(f) of any such particulars where such particulars are relevant to any inquiry into the conduct of an official of the Sales Tax Department to any person or persons appointed to hold such inquiry, or

(g) of such facts to an officer of the Central Government or a State Government as may be necessary for the purpose of enabling the Government to levy or realise any tax or duty imposed by it, or

(h) of any such particulars, when such disclosure is occasioned by the lawful exercise by a public servant of his powers under the Bombay Stamps Act, 1958 or the Indian Stamp Act,1989 to impound an insufficient stamped document, or

(i) of any such particulars where such particulars are relevant to any inquiry into a charge of misconduct in connection with sales tax proceedings against a legal practitioner, sales tax practitioner, Chartered Accountant or Cost Accountant to the authority empowered to take disciplinary action against members practising the profession of a legal practitioner, sales tax practitioner, Chartered Accountant or Cost Accountant, as the case may be, or

(j) of any such particulars to the Director, Bureau of Economic and Statistics or to any person or persons authorized under sub-section (2) of section 71 as may be necessary to enable the Director or such person or persons to work out th incidence of tax on any commodity, or  (k) of any such particulars to an officer of the Central Government for the purpose of investigation or prosecution under any law for the time being in force, as the State Government may direct in any specific case.