BIR Ruling

December 19, 1975 Mr. Ireneo T. Aguirre, Jr. Bureau of Special Services Department of Tourism Manila S i r : In reply to your letter dated December 5, 1975 requesting that your Office be furnished with data and statistics particularly on the annual income statement (1974) of the different hotels, tour operators and travel agencies all over the country, I regrets to inform you that your request cannot be granted in view of the prohibition contained in Section 347 of the Tax Code which provides, viz.: "Sec. 347. Unlawful divulgence of trade secrets . Except as provided in Section 81 any officer or employee of the Bureau of Internal Revenue who divulges to any person or makes known in any other manner than may be provided by law information regarding the business, income, or inheritance of any taxpayer, the secrets, operation, style of work, or apparatus of any manufacturer or producer, or confidential information regarding the business of any taxpayer, knowledge of which was acquired by him in the discharged of his officials duties, shall be fined in a sum of not more than two thousand pesos or imprisoned for a term of not less than six months nor than five years, or both. aisa dc Very truly yours, (SGD.) EFREN I. PLANA Acting Commissioner of Internal Revenue TAN-1456-040-3