CAPE TOWN, May (ANA) - Suspended SARS commissioner Tom Moyane will face disciplinary charges, President Cyril Ramaphosa's office said on Friday.
The charges were served on Moyane on Thursday and relate to alleged misconduct in violation of his duties and responsibilities in terms of the South African Revenue Service Act, Public Finance Management Act and SARS Code of Conduct, the presidency said.
"The disciplinary inquiry relates to alleged leadership and organisational failures," it added.
Retired Constitutional Court Judge Kate O’Regan will be the presiding officer for the disciplinary inquiry.
The presidency said in a separate process a commission of inquiry would be established to probe tax administrative issues like VAT refunds and shortfalls in revenue in the past two financial years.
It said more details on the commission would be released shortly.
Moyane was suspended in May after he refused to heed the president's request to resign. Ramaphosa’s office said at the time that disciplinary charges would follow. It added that it believed it was vital to restore the credibility of the revenue service.
The presidency raised both the alleged withholding of value-added tax refunds by SARS and Moyane's handling of the corruption controversy surrounding former top official Jonas Makwakwa.
But Moyane's sacking was widely seen as inevitable after the end of the Zuma administration. He was long engaged in open hostility with Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan, while the latter held the finance portfolio. Moyane insisted that an unlawful intelligence gathering unit had been set up at the revenue service while Gordhan served as commissioner, a claim the minister denies.
- African News Agency (ANA)
