O R D E R

1. The appellant filed an application under the Right to Information Act, 2005 (RTI Act) before the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO) O/o. the Pr. Commissioner GST Commissionerate, Ludhiana, Punajb. The appellant seeking information is as under:-

“ Please let me know the following information in the below mentioned format in respect of all appeals filed by the Department against final orders dated 01 January, 2018 till 12 November, 2019, both dates inclusive, passed by CESTAT, Chandigarh. ”

2. The CPIO vide letter dated 11.12.2019 denied the information to the appellant under section 8(1)(e) of RTI Act, 2005. Aggrieved by the reply furnished by the CPIO, the appellant filed the first appeal dated 12-12-2019 requesting that the information should be provided to him. The first appellate authority vide order dated 10-01-2020, upheld the reply furnished by the CPIO and disposed of the appeal. Thereafter the appellant filed a second appeal u/Section 19(3) of the RTI Act before the Commission on the ground that information has not been provided to him and requested the Commission to direct the respondent to provide complete and correct information.

Hearing:

3. The appellant attended the hearing through audio-call. The respondent, Shri Hemant Kumar, Asst. Commissioner/ CPIO attended the hearing through audio-call.

4. The respondent submitted their written submissions dated 14.09.2021 and the same has been taken on record.

5. The appellant submitted that complete and correct information has not been provided to him by the respondent on his RTI application dated 12.11.2019. He further submitted that the tabular form in which the information has been sought is taken from the circulars of the respondent in which they keep the said information compiled on quarterly basis. He further submitted that the CPIO has rejected the information as third party and later the FAA has rejected the same being held in fiduciary capacity. He also informed the Commission that the same information has been furnished by other public authorities on his other RTI application and hence pleaded that necessary actions be taken in this regard.

6. The respondent submitted that vide their letter dated 11.12.2019, they have denied the information to the appellant as third party information having no larger public interest and hence cannot be furnished under Section 8(1)(e) of the RTI Act. But, the FAA vide its order dated 10.01.2020 also disposed of the appeal. He further submitted that the disclosure of such information would reveal the identity of the Assesses/ Tax Payers, which is a third party information being held in fiduciary capacity by the department.

Decision:

7. The Commission, after hearing the submissions of both the parties and after perusal of records, observes that the appellant has sought information regarding all appeals filed by the Department against final orders dated 01 January, 2018 till 12 November, 2019, passed by CESTAT, Chandigarh. The Commission further observes that the information filed with the department with respect to the litigations pending against the orders of the department in a tax dispute and also the information exchange between the department and the assesse/ tax payer are kept in fiduciary capacity. The knowledge of these disputes to any third party may have adverse impact on the commercial interest of the department and hence cannot be disclosed. Furthermore, if some other public authority have provided the similar information, the same cannot be treated as a matter of claim by the appellant. Public Authority cannot take an easy course of such disclosure of third party information as it may harm the interest of the assesse.

8. In this context, with regard to non-disclosure of information under Section 8(1)(e) of the RTI Act, 2005, the decision of the Hon’ble Supreme Court of India in Institute of Chartered Accountants of India Vs. Shaunak H. Satya and Ors) in Civil Appeal NO. 7571 of 2011- dated 02/09/2011 was referr