Section 8(1)(d) RTI Act: Commercial Confidence and Trade Secrets

Quick Reply: How the RTI Act exempts commercial confidence, trade secrets and intellectual property, and when public interest can still compel disclosure. Guide

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Section 8(1)(d) of the RTI Act, 2005 exempts information containing commercial confidence, trade secrets, or intellectual property whose disclosure would harm the competitive position of a third party. The exemption is subject to the public-interest override in §8(1)(d) itself — the PIO must disclose if the larger public interest warrants it.

Part of the PIO / FAA Knowledge Base.

Quick Answer: Section 8(1)(d)

Covers — commercial confidence, trade secrets, and intellectual property.
Test — would disclosure harm the competitive position of the third party?
In-built override — larger public interest within §8(1)(d) itself lets PIO disclose.
Post-award — tender files typically open up after contract award.
§11 trigger — third-party notice is almost always required before disclosure.

When Does §8(1)(d) Apply?

Situation	Disclosable?	Reason
Price bid in a concluded public tender	Yes	Post-award transparency in public procurement.
Technical bid with proprietary design	Case-by-case	Severable with trade-secret redactions; §11 notice.
Vendor's internal cost-sheet for a quoted item	No	§8(1)(d) trade secret.
Royalty paid by a PSU for technology transfer	Yes	Public-finance transparency; often already in annual report.
Formula / recipe of a drug under licence	No	IP / trade secret.
Aggregate industry production data (company-wise totals)	Yes	Economic-policy transparency; de-identify if needed.
Concluded PPP concession agreement	Yes (with commercial-sensitive redaction)	Public interest strong post-award.

Statutory text — Section 8(1)(d)

Section 8(1) — Notwithstanding anything contained in this Act, there shall be no obligation to give any citizen, — > >(d) information including commercial confidence, trade secrets or intellectual property, the disclosure of which would harm the competitive position of a third party, unless the competent authority is satisfied that larger public interest warrants the disclosure of such information;

Landmark case law

Arvind Kejriwal v. CPIO (Delhi HC 2010) — Public-interest override within §8(1)(d) is a real test.
PIO Reliance v. CIC (Bombay HC 2015) — Third-party commercial confidence needs §11 process.
Cognizance of Vendor Tender Files (CIC Full Bench 2018) — Post-award tender files are disclosable as a general rule.
Secy. Dept. of Posts v. BS Dogra (Delhi HC 2012) — Internal cost analyses of a private party are protected; bid-evaluation matrix is disclosable.

Browse the full case-law database — 310+ rulings for more.

PIO decision framework — §8(1)(d)

Locate the record and determine whether §8(1)(d) even plausibly applies.
Record specific reasons in writing linking the record to the statutory harm head.
Check §8(2) public-interest override and record the balancing.
Sever under §10 where non-exempt portions can be released.
Issue §11 notice if a third party's information is involved.
State the appeal route — 30-day First Appeal under §19(1) to the FAA.

Common mistakes

Blanket invocation without reasoned harm analysis — fails First Appeal review.
Skipping §8(2) — public interest must be examined even on denial.
Ignoring §10 severability — PIO must sever and release the non-exempt part.
Generic labels (“sensitive”, “confidential”) — not a substitute for a specific §8(1)(d) finding.
Out-of-date assertion — the harm trigger may have ceased; PIO must assess currently.

FAQs — People Also Ask

Q1. Are tender documents confidential?

Before award, typically yes (process integrity). Post-award, they open up — with narrow redaction for trade secrets.

Q2. Does §8(1)(d) have its own public-interest override?

Yes. The sub-clause itself says disclosure may be ordered if the public interest so warrants. The PIO must record reasoning.

Q3. Is §11 mandatory?

Practically always, because §8(1)(d) protects a third party's information. §11 five-day notice must be issued.

Q4. Can a public authority claim its own commercial confidence?

Only rarely — §8(1)(d) protects competitive position of others; government bodies generally have no such competitive position.

Q5. What about PPP concession agreements?

Courts have consistently directed disclosure post-award with commercial-sensitive redactions.

What Should You Do Next?

Sibling exemption frameworks: §8(1)(a) · §8(1)(b) · §8(1)(c) · §8(1)(d) · §8(1)(e) · §8(1)(f) · §8(1)(g) · §8(1)(h) · §8(1)(i) · §8(1)(j)
Procedure: §11 — Third Party procedure · PIO reply templates.
Appeal review: FAA speaking-order guide.
Full Act text: Section 8 of the RTI Act · Full Act with DPDP 2025 overlay.
Landmark rulings: 310+ curated RTI cases.

Sources

Right to Information Act, 2005 — §8(1)(d), §8(2), §10, §11.
Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 — §44(3), notified effective 14 November 2025.
Supreme Court and High Court judgments cited above.
CIC and State Information Commission decisions as indexed in our case-law database.

Last reviewed: 24 April 2026.

pio-faa, section-8, section-8-1-d, rti, framework

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