Except as provided by law:

1.     a.    The commissioner or an individual having an administrative duty under this chapter may not divulge or make known in any manner whatever the business affairs, operations, or information obtained from any person under any reporting requirement of this chapter, or by an investigation of any person in the discharge of official duty, or the amount or sources of income, profits, losses, expenditures, or any particulars set forth or disclosed in any return, or permit any return or copy or any book containing any abstract of particulars to be seen or examined by any individual.

b.    A court of competent jurisdiction may issue an order or subpoena directing the tax commissioner to disclose state tax return information to a local, state, or federal law enforcement official conducting a criminal investigation if the court determines that the facts submitted by the applicant satisfy the following:

(1) There is probable cause to believe that a specific criminal act has been committed and that the return or return information constitutes evidence of a criminal offense or may be relevant to a matter relating to the commission of the criminal offense; (2) The return or return information is sought exclusively for use in a criminal investigation or proceeding concerning such act; and

(3) The information sought to be disclosed cannot reasonably be obtained under the circumstances, from another source.

c.    Before obtaining an order under this subsection, a law enforcement official may request information from the tax commissioner as to whether a taxpayer, which is the subject of a criminal investigation for which a return or return information is or may be relevant to the commission of a criminal offense, has complied with the requirements of this chapter. For purposes of this request, the tax commissioner is limited to stating that the taxpayer has or has not complied with these requirements.

d.    Except as required during court proceedings, tax return information disclosed to law enforcement under this section remains confidential during an active criminal investigation, after the investigation, after prosecution concludes, or until the time period for appeals has expired, whichever is later.

2.    The commissioner may authorize examination of those returns by other state officers and at the commissioner’s discretion furnish to the tax officials of other states, the multistate tax commission, and the United States any information contained in the tax returns and reports and related schedules and documents filed under this chapter, and in the related report of an audit or investigation, if the information is furnished solely for tax purposes. The multistate tax commission may make the information available to the tax officials of any other state and the United States for tax purposes.

3.    The commissioner may furnish to workforce safety and insurance, the job insurance division of job service North Dakota, and the secretary of state, upon request of the respective agency, a list or lists of holders of permits issued under this chapter or chapter 57-40.2, together with the addresses and tax department file identification numbers of those permitholders. The agency may use the list or lists only for the purpose of administering the duties of the agency. The commissioner may furnish to the unclaimed property division of the board of university and school lands, upon its request, the name, address, and the permitholder’s federal identification number for the sole purpose of identifying the owner of an unclaimed voucher authorized by the commissioner.

4.    The commissioner may furnish to a state agency or private entity a list of names and addresses of holders of permits issued under this chapter or chapter 57-40.2 for the purpose of jointly publishing or distributing publications or other information under section 54-06-04.3. Any information provided may only be used for the purpose of     jointly publishing or distributing publications or other information as provided in section 54-06-04.3.

5.    The commissioner may make information pertaining to county lodging taxes, county lodging and restaurant taxes, city lodging taxes, city lodging and restaurant taxes, or city or county sales and use taxes, contained in tax returns, reports, related schedules and documents, and reports of an audit or investigation available upon request to no more than two duly elected or appointed members of the governing body of a city or county for which collection and administration of the tax is required by statute or a tax collection agreement administered under section 57-01-02.1. The governing body of the city or county or its members may not divulge or make known in any manner the business affairs, operations, or other information acquired from the commissioner under this subsection concerning any person, corporation, limited liability company, or other entity unless the disclosure is by judicial order and for tax administration purposes only.

6.    The commissioner or any person having an administrative duty under this chapter may announce that a permit has been revoked.

7.    The tax commissioner, upon written request from the director of the North Dakota lottery, may provide a written statement to the director, employees, or agents of the North Dakota lottery, in which the tax commissioner is limited to stating that the lottery retailer applicant has complied or not complied with the requirements of this chapter. The information obtained under this subsection is confidential and may be used for the sole purpose of determining whether the applicant meets the requirements of subsections 3, 4, and 5 of section 53-12.1-07.

8.    Upon request, the commissioner may furnish to the unclaimed property division of the board of university and school lands, a taxpayer’s name, address, and federal identification number for identifying the owner of an unclaimed voucher authorized by the commissioner or to locate the apparent owner of unclaimed property as provided under chapter 47-30.2.

9.    The commissioner may provide the department of commerce information obtained through the administration of the sales tax under this chapter or the use tax under chapter 57-40.2. A request by the department of commerce for information must be in writing and must be limited to information necessary to evaluate the degree of success and compliance with statutory or contractual performance standards established for employers who received economic development assistance from this state. A request under this subsection does not require the commissioner to compile or create a record, including compiling or creating a record that does not exist from electronically stored information. Information received by the department of commerce under this subsection is not subject to section 44-04-18 and section 6 of article XI of the Constitution of North Dakota and may not be disclosed by the department of commerce except in an aggregate format that does not allow the identification of a taxpayer and does not contain any information in the returns or reports filed by a taxpayer.