-PTI
Information given to income tax authorities by assessees does not come under any fiduciary relationship and cannot be denied to an RTI applicant on this ground, the Central Information Commission has ruled.
Hearing the plea of Rakesh Kumar Gupta, who sought information on estimated tax evasion figures, the panel rejected the income tax department’s argument about such a relationship.
Information commissioner Annapurna Dixit said the fiduciary relation exists when there is scope to protect the rights or interests of a beneficiary.
“The information is provided by the assessee who is under the scrutiny of the department of income tax, no benefit can be seen to accrue to the assessee. Such information is clearly being given under pressure to the official,” Dixit said.
She, however, agreed on the another exemption clause cited by the tax authority — that a disclosure would adversely affect ongoing cases and allowed it to withhold the information.