Section 487. Secrecy requirement

(a)  Except  in accordance with proper
  judicial order or as otherwise provided by law, it shall be unlawful for
  the tax commission, any tax commissioner, any officer or employee of the
  department of taxation and finance, any person engaged  or  retained  by
  such  department  on  an independent contract basis, or any person, who,
  pursuant to this section, is permitted to inspect any costs or to whom a
  copy, an abstract or a portion thereof is furnished, or to whom any such
  information is furnished or any person who in  any  manner  may  acquire
  knowledge  of  such costs, to divulge or make known in any manner any of
  the costs of doing business of a  retail  dealer,  or  of  an  agent  or
  wholesale  dealer which have been filed with the tax commission pursuant
  to paragraph one, two or  three  of  subdivision  (b)  of  section  four
  hundred  eighty-three  of  this  article,  or to divulge the name of any
  person who has provided information to the tax commission concerning any
  alleged violation of this article.
    (b) The officers and  employees  charged  with  the  custody  of  such
  information  shall not be required to divulge any of such information in
  any action or proceeding in any court,  except  on  behalf  of  the  tax
  commission  in  an  action  or  proceeding  under the provisions of this
  chapter or in any other action or proceeding involving the collection of
  a tax due under this chapter to which the state or the tax commission is
  a party or a claimant, or on behalf  of  any  party  to  any  action  or
  proceeding under the provisions of this article when such information is
  directly  involved  in such action or proceeding, in any of which events
  the court may require the production of, and may admit in  evidence,  so
  much  of  such  information as is pertinent to the action or proceeding,
  and no more.
    (c) This provision shall not be construed to prohibit  the  disclosure
  of  such  information  to  a  retail  dealer or to an agent or wholesale
  dealer, or to its duly authorized representative, in connection with its
  establishment  of  a  cost  of  doing  business,  or  to  prohibit   the
  publication of statistics so classified as to prevent the identification
  of  particular  information concerning the cost of doing business of any
  retail dealer, agent or wholesale  dealer,  or  the  disclosure  of  the
  identity   of  persons  licensed  as  agents  or  wholesale  dealers  or
  registered as chain stores, franchisees, cooperative  members  or  large
  volume outlets, or the disclosure to the attorney general or other legal
  representatives of the state in connection with any action or proceeding
  under  this  article  brought  by or against the retail dealer, agent or
  wholesale dealer, or against whom an action  or  proceeding  under  this
  chapter has been recommended by the commissioner of taxation and finance
  or by the attorney general.
    (d)  Any  officer  or employee of the state who willfully violates the
  provisions of this  section  shall  be  dismissed  from  office  and  be
  incapable  of  holding  any  public office in this state for a period of
  five years thereafter.
    (e) Cross-reference: For criminal penalties, see article  thirty-seven
  of this chapter.