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Len is Mauds accountant. He has been visited by an ATO officer who demanded to see all his files and other materials (including electronic computer files) regarding Mauds financial affairs. The ATO officer also told him that he wants Len to answer some questions about Mauds affairs generally. He has also told Len that if the files need further investigation he wants to take them back to the ATO with him. Len is very concerned because he knows that his files contain some highly sensitive documents.

Some relate to the valuation of a business that Maud is negotiating to buy. They are clearly marked Commercial-in-Confidence because they show that the price the seller is asking is well below market value. If they become public before Maud can close the deal it is likely that the price will increase.

They also include letters from Mauds solicitors providing advice about the legality of a family trust that Maud wants to establish to allow her to distribute income from her business to other members of her family.

Finally, they include a letter from Maud setting out details of a similar arrangement that she had in previous years which Len knows was illegal.

Explain whether Len can refuse the ATO access to his files at all (without a search warrant), whether he has to help the ATO officer identify the relevant files from all the records in his office, whether there are any specific grounds on which he can refuse access to those documents about which he is really concerned, whether he is obliged to answer any questions about Mauds affairs at all and whether the ATO can take away any files they identify as being of interest.

[Total for Question: 5 marks]

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