§ 437. Returns to be secret. 1. Except in accordance with proper\njudicial order or as in this section or otherwise provided by law, it\nshall be unlawful for the tax commission, any tax commissioner, any\nofficer or employee of the department of taxation and finance, or any\nofficer or person who, pursuant to this section, is permitted to inspect\nany return or report or to whom a copy, an abstract or a portion of any\nreturn or report is furnished, or to whom any information contained in\nany return or report is furnished, or any person engaged or retained by\nsuch department on an independent contract basis, or any person who in\nany manner may acquire knowledge of the contents of a return or report\nfiled pursuant to this article to divulge or make known in any manner\nthe contents or any other information relating to the business of a\ndistributor, owner or other person contained in any return or report\nrequired under this article. The officers charged with the custody of\nsuch returns or reports shall not be required to produce any of them or\nevidence of anything contained in them in any action or proceeding in\nany court, except on behalf of the state, the state liquor authority,\nany county alcoholic beverage control board, the New York city alcoholic\nbeverage control board or the tax commission in an action or proceeding\nunder the provisions of this chapter or chapter three-b of the\nconsolidated laws, or on behalf of the state or the tax commission in\nany other action or proceeding involving the collection of a tax due\nunder this chapter to which the state or the tax commission is a party\nor a claimant or on behalf of any party to any action or proceeding\nunder the provisions of this article or chapter three-b of the\nconsolidated laws, when the returns or the reports or the facts shown\nthereby are directly involved in such action or proceeding, or in an\naction or proceeding relating to the regulation or taxation of alcoholic\nbeverages on behalf of officers to whom information shall have been\nsupplied as provided in subdivision two of this section, in any of which\nevents the court may require the production of, and may admit in\nevidence so much of said returns or reports or of the facts shown\nthereby as are pertinent to the action or proceeding and no more. The\ntax commission may, nevertheless, publish a copy or a summary of any\ndecision rendered after the formal hearing provided for in section four\nhundred thirty of this chapter. Nothing herein shall be construed to\nprohibit the tax commission, in its discretion, from allowing the\ninspection or delivery of a certified copy of any return or report filed\nunder this article or of any information contained in any such return or\nreport by or to a duly authorized officer or employee of the state\nliquor authority or of the New York city alcoholic beverage control\nboard or of any county alcoholic beverage control board; or by or to the\nattorney-general or other legal representatives of the state when an\naction shall have been recommended or commenced pursuant to this chapter\nor chapter three-b of the consolidated laws in which such returns or\nreports or the facts shown thereby are directly involved; or the\ninspection of the returns or reports required under this article by the\ncomptroller or duly designated officer or employee of the state\ndepartment of audit and control, for purposes of the audit of a refund\nof any tax paid by a distributor or other person under this article; nor\nto prohibit the delivery to a distributor, owner or other person, or a\nduly authorized representative of such distributor, owner or other\nperson of a certified copy of any return or report filed by such\ndistributor, owner or other person pursuant to this article, nor to\nprohibit the publication of statistics so classified as to prevent the\nidentification of particular returns or reports and the items thereof.\nReturns and reports shall be preserved for three y
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