§ 994. Secrecy requirement and penalties for violation. (a) Secrecy\nrequirements. (1) Except in accordance with proper judicial order or as\notherwise provided by law, it shall be unlawful for the commissioner of\ntaxation and finance, any officer or employee of the department of\ntaxation and finance, any person engaged or retained by such department\non an independent contract basis, or any person who, pursuant to this\nsection, is permitted to inspect any report or return or to whom a copy,\nan abstract or a portion of any report or return is furnished, or to\nwhom any information contained in any report or return is furnished, to\ndivulge or make known in any manner the value of the estate or any\nparticulars set forth or disclosed in any report or return required\nunder this article.\n (2) The officers charged with the custody of such reports and returns\nshall not be required to produce any of them or evidence of anything\ncontained in them in any action or proceeding in any court, except on\nbehalf of the commissioner of taxation and finance in an action or\nproceeding under the provisions of this chapter, or in any other action\nor proceeding involving the collection of a tax due under this chapter\nto which the state or the commissioner of taxation and finance is a\nparty or claimant, or on behalf of any party to any action or proceeding\nunder the provisions of this article when the reports, returns or facts\nshown thereby are directly involved in such action or proceeding or in\nany proceeding under the surrogate's court procedure act to assist the\nsurrogate to carry out his powers or duties under such act including,\nbut not limited to the determination of the amount of court fees\nrequired to be paid under article twenty-four of such act, in any of\nwhich events the court may require the production of, and may admit in\nevidence, so much of said reports, returns or of the facts shown\nthereby, as are pertinent to the action or proceeding and no more.\n (3) Nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit the delivery to a\nsurrogate or to any person liable for the payment of the tax imposed by\nthis article or such liable person's duly authorized representative of a\ncertified copy of any return, correspondence or other data filed in\nconnection with the tax for which such person is liable or a copy of any\nworkpaper, document or other data prepared or developed by the\ndepartment during the processing, audit or investigation of that return\nor the collection of the tax derived therefrom or the delivery of any\nsuch copy to any person interested in the estate, any heir at law, next\nof kin, or beneficiary under the will, of such decedent, or a donee of\nproperty, but only if the commissioner or the surrogate, as the case may\nbe, finds that such person, heir at law, next of kin, beneficiary, or\ndonee has a material interest which will be affected by information\ncontained therein. Further, nothing herein shall be construed to\nprohibit the publication of statistics so classified as to prevent the\nidentification of particular reports or returns and the items thereof,\nor the inspection by the attorney general or other legal representatives\nof the state of the return of any person (or any report related to such\nreturn or any copy mentioned in the preceding sentence) who shall bring\naction to set aside or review the tax based thereon, or against whom an\naction or proceeding under this chapter has been recommended by the\ncommissioner or the attorney general or has been instituted, or the\ninspection of the reports or returns 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 taxpayer under this article. Further, nothing\ncontained herein shall be construed to prevent an examination of any\ndocuments concerning an estate that are under the control of the\nsurrogate by a
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