NY Tax L § 491 (2021)
2021 New York Laws TAX - Tax Article 20-B - Excise Tax on Medical Cannabis 491 - Returns to Be Secret.

* §  491.  Returns  to  be secret. 1. Except in accordance with proper judicial order or as in this section or otherwise provided  by  law,  it shall  be  unlawful for the commissioner, any officer or employee of the department, or any officer or person who, pursuant to this  section,  is permitted to inspect any return or report or to whom a copy, an abstract or  a  portion  of  any  return  or  report is furnished, or to whom any information contained in any return  or  report  is  furnished,  or  any person engaged or retained by such department on an independent contract basis  or  any  person  who  in  any manner may acquire knowledge of the contents of a return or report filed pursuant to this article to divulge or make known in any  manner  the  contents  or  any  other  information relating  to  the  business  of  a  distributor,  owner  or other person contained in any return or  report  required  under  this  article.  The officers  charged  with the custody of such returns or reports shall not be required to produce any of them or evidence of anything contained  in them  in  any action or proceeding in any court, except on behalf of the state, office of cannabis management, or the commissioner in  an  action or  proceeding  under the provisions of this chapter or on behalf of the state or the commissioner in any other action  or  proceeding  involving the collection of a tax due under this chapter to which the state or the commissioner  is  a party or a claimant or on behalf of any party to any action or proceeding under the provisions  of  this  article,  when  the returns  or the reports or the facts shown thereby are directly involved in such action or proceeding, or in an action or proceeding relating  to the  regulation or taxation of medical cannabis on behalf of officers to whom information shall have been supplied as provided in subdivision two of this section, in any of  which  events  the  court  may  require  the production  of,  and  may  admit  in evidence so much of said returns or reports or of the facts shown thereby as are pertinent to the action  or proceeding  and  no  more. Nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit the commissioner, in his or her discretion, from allowing the inspection or delivery of a certified copy of any return or report filed under this article or of any information contained in any such return or report  by or  to  a  duly authorized officer or employee of the office of cannabis management;  or  by  or  to  the  attorney  general   or   other   legal representatives  of the state when an action shall have been recommended or commenced pursuant to this chapter in which such returns  or  reports or  the  facts shown thereby are directly involved; or the inspection of the returns or reports required under this article by the comptroller or duly designated officer or employee of the state department of audit and control, for purposes of the audit of a refund of  any  tax  paid  by  a registered  organization  or  other  person  under  this article; nor to prohibit the delivery to a registered organization, or a duly authorized representative of such registered organization, a certified copy of  any return  or report filed by such registered organization pursuant to this article, nor to prohibit the publication of statistics so classified  as to  prevent  the identification of particular returns or reports and the items thereof. This section shall also not be construed to prohibit  the disclosure,  for  tax  administration  purposes,  to the division of the budget  and  the  office  of  the  state  comptroller,  of   information aggregated  from  the  returns filed by all the registered organizations making sales of, or  manufacturing,  medical  cannabis  in  a  specified county,  whether  the  number of such registered organizations is one or more. Provided further that,  notwithstanding  the  provisions  of  this subdivision,  the commissioner may, in his or her discretion, permit the proper  officer  of  any  county  entitled  to  receive  an  allocation, following appropriation by the legislature, pursuant to this article and section  eighty-nine-h  of  the  state  finance  law,  or the authorized  representative of such officer, to inspect any return filed  under  this article,  or  may  furnish  to  such officer or the officer's authorized representative an abstract of any such return or supply such officer  or such representative with information concerning an item contained in any such  return,  or  disclosed by any investigation of tax liability under this article.   2. The commissioner, in his or her discretion  and  pursuant  to  such rules and regulations as he or she may adopt, may permit the appropriate officers  of  any other state which regulates or taxes medical cannabis, or the duly authorized representatives  of  such  officers,  to  inspect returns or reports made pursuant to this article, or may furnish to such other  officers,  or duly authorized representatives, a copy of any such return or report or an abstract of the information therein contained, or any  portion  thereof,  or  may  supply  any  such  officers   or   such representatives   with   information  relating  to  the  business  of  a registered  organization  making  returns  or  reports  hereunder.   The commissioner   may   refuse  to  supply  information  pursuant  to  this subdivision to the officers of any other state if the  statutes  of  the state  represented  by such officers, do not grant substantially similar privileges to the commissioner, but such refusal shall not be mandatory. Information shall not be supplied to the  appropriate  officers  of  any other  state  which  regulates  or  taxes  medical cannabis, or the duly authorized representatives of any of such officers, unless such  officer or other representatives shall agree not to divulge or make known in any manner  the information so supplied, but such officers may transmit such information to their employees or legal representatives when  necessary, who  in  turn  shall be subject to the same restrictions as those hereby imposed upon such officer or other representatives.   3. (a) Any officer or employee of the state who willfully violates the provisions of subdivision one or two of this section shall be  dismissed from  office and be incapable of holding any public office in this state for a period of five years thereafter.  (b) Cross-reference: For criminal penalties, see article  thirty-seven of this chapter.   * NB Repealed July 5, 2028