Fay Richwhite & Co Ltd v Davison - [1995] 1 NZLR 517

Statutes — Interpretation — Obligation of officer of Inland Revenue Department to maintain confidentiality of taxpayer information — Officer giving evidence at Commission of Inquiry in respect of activities of taxpaying companies — Serious allegations of incompetence and criminal conduct by Commissioner of Inland Revenue — Commission of Inquiry ruling that evidence be heard in public — Whether officer's evidence for purpose of carrying into effect Inland Revenue Acts — Inland Revenue Department Act 1974, s 13.

Judicial review — Commissions of Inquiry — Inquiry into allegations of incompetence and criminal conduct by Commissioner of Inland Revenue and Director of Serious Fraud Office — Commission of Inquiry ruling that evidence as to affairs of taxpaying companies be heard in public — Commission of Inquiry concluding that public interest in public inquiry outweighed companies' interest in confidentiality of tax information — Whether Commission of Inquiry erred in law — Whether evidence ought to be heard in private.