Information in respect of survey u/s 133(A) conducted by Income Tax authorities – Appellant: survey is a public activity - CIC: disclosure of name and address of persons is exempt u/s 8(1)(j) and 8(1)(d); provide statistical information relating to survey

FACTS

Vide RTI dt 17.9.12, appellant had sought the following information in respect of survey u/s 133(A) conducted by IT authorities of CIT Gwalior during period April 1, 2011 to Aug 31, 2012:

i) name and address of the persons covered by the survey;

ii) designation of the officers conducting the survey and other members of the survey team;

iii) name and address of the premises surveyed;

iv) name of persons present during the survey on behalf of the assessee

v) amount of income surrendered by the assessees during the survey;

vi) amount of tax paid on the basis of surrendered amount of income.

2. CPIO vide letter dt 10.10.12, observed that information sought relates to commercial activities of individuals, disclosure of which could cause harm to their business and hence the information was denied u/s 8(1)(d) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information; Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information; of the RTI Act.

3. An appeal was filed on 19.10.12.

4. AA/CIT Gwalior, vide order dt 30.11.12 observed that the CPIO has rightly held that the information sought relates to business activities of individuals which can damage their competitive status and has no relationship to any public activity and hence was denied u/s 8(1)(j) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information which relates to personal information the disclosure of which has no relationship to any public activity or interest, or which would cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the individual unless the Central Public Information Officer or the State Public Information Officer or the appellate authority, as the case may be, is satisfied that the larger public interest justifies the disclosure of such information: Provided that the information which cannot be denied to the Parliament or a State Legislature shall not be denied to any person. Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information which relates to personal information the disclosure of which has no relationship to any public activity or interest, or which would cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the individual unless the Central Public Information Officer or the State Public Information Officer or the appellate authority, as the case may be, is satisfied that the larger public interest justifies the disclosure of such information: Provided that the information which cannot be denied to the Parliament or a State Legislature shall not be denied to any person. of the RTI Act. Moreover the appellant has not been able to explain as to how the disclosure of information would be in public interest.

5. Submissions made by the appellant and public authority were heard. Appellant submitted that both the CPIO and the AA have not given any grounds for denying the information. Survey is a public activity and hence denial of information is not justified. In support of his arguments, appellant referred to the case of Shri Yamaji Sakharam Rathod Vs CIT Nasik, dated 2.3.2007. CPIO submitted that information sought by the appellant was personal information relating to individuals and as such cannot be provided. As regards para 3 of the written submissions made by the appellant to the Commission that newspapers have published reports regarding survey on the basis of inputs provided by the IT authorities, CPIO clarified that newspaper reports were based on their own information.

DECISION

6. The CIC decision referred to by the appellant is perused. The Commission finds that in query no.1, the appellant has sought names and address of the persons who were covered by the survey u/s 133A. Disclosure of such names is personal information and hence exempt u/s 8(1)(j) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information which relates to personal information the disclosure of which has no relationship to any public activity or interest, or which would cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the individual unless the Central Public Information Officer or the State Public Information Officer or the appellate authority, as the case may be, is satisfied that the larger public interest justifies the disclosure of such information: Provided that the information which cannot be denied to the Parliament or a State Legislature shall not be denied to any person. Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information which relates to personal information the disclosure of which has no relationship to any public activity or interest, or which would cause unwarranted invasion of the privacy of the individual unless the Central Public Information Officer or the State Public Information Officer or the appellate authority, as the case may be, is satisfied that the larger public interest justifies the disclosure of such information: Provided that the information which cannot be denied to the Parliament or a State Legislature shall not be denied to any person. of the RTI Act. Moreover, disclosure of names and addresses would have the effect of maligning individuals which can certainly impact on their commercial/business activities. Hence, denial of information u/s 8(1)(d) Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information; Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information; is also justifiable. The appellant, however, has a right to be provided statistical information relating to survey carried out by the IT authorities from April 1, 2011 to Aug 31, 2012 and the total amount of tax recovered.

7. The Commission while upholding the decision of the CPIO/AA in denying personal information, directs CPIO to provide statistical information as sought at point no.v and vi of the RTI, to the appellant within three weeks from date of receipt of the order. The appeal is disposed of.

(Rajiv Mathur)

Central Information Commissioner

Citation: Shri K.K. Garg v. ITO in File No.CIC/RM/A/2013/000020