Moyane denies meeting Guptas

South African Revenue Service (SARS) Commissioner Tom Moyane has denied in a statement that he met any member of the Gupta family during a visit to Dubai in Decemeber 2015.

SARS had earlier said it would not comment on Moyane’s movements but on Friday said: "SARS can confirm that Commissioner Moyane was in Dubai on 23 December 2015‚ in transit to spend Christmas in Portugal. SARS can further confirm that he returned to Dubai on 29 December 2015 and returned to South Africa on the 8th of January 2016‚" the statement reads.

Davids was asked to resign by Brown this week after The Times and others reported how her trip to Dubai had apparently been paid for by the Guptas. She claimed to have paid her own way and had stayed in Dubai after falling ill en route to Portugal.

"Commissioner Moyane categorically states that he has never met any member of the Gupta family in either his private or professional capacity‚" SARS said‚ adding that the attempt to link the Commissioner and/or SARS as an institution with the Gupta family or their associates as "malicious and reckless in the extreme".

The statement said that SARS invited anyone with "information to the contrary" to provide such to SARS or any organ of state.

SARS is being pressured to explain the payment of a R70-million VAT refund in June this year‚ with reports alleging that Moyane personally intervened to get the payment processed.

SARS has declined to comment on these reports except to say the payment was not irregular.