The SA Revenue Service (Sars) has welcomed the Pretoria high court ruling setting aside the report issued by the public protector in July 2019 on her findings concerning an investigation unit at the revenue service.
In her report on her investigation into the Sars “rogue unit”, Busisiwe Mkhwebane found the establishment of the unit, approved by Pravin Gordhan, was in violation of the constitution.
Gordhan was the commissioner of Sars when the unit was formed.
He took the report on review last year.
Sars said the high court judgment confirmed its powers to gather intelligence relating to tax offences.
“The judgment is a strong reminder to any incumbent, present or in the future, who occupies the important role as commissioner of Sars as well as every Sars employee of their duty to be administratively fair, respect the institutional mandate, and always act in line with constitutional principles of rational decision-making, unbiased conduct and hearing the other side,” Sars said in a statement.
“Sars is engaged in restoring institutional integrity and rebuilding capability and this as an opportunity to refocus on the important work of collecting tax and customs revenues, improve tax compliance and restoring public confidence.”
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