The South African Revenue Service (SARS) employment relations manager Luther Lebelo is expected to take the stand when the SARS Commission of Inquiry resumes in Pretoria on Thursday morning.
On Wednesday, the commission heard that suspended SARS Commissioner Tom Moyane undermined investigations into the illicit tobacco trade when he disbanded a unit that probed large-scale corruption at the revenue collector.
SARS officials appearing before the commission said that Moyane established a tobacco task team in his office which was more concerned with investigating employees than the illicit tobacco industry.
On Wednesday, the SARS commission heard that SARS spent R3 million of tax payers money on false charges against a top official who was in charge of heading up the anti-corruption unit at the revenue service.
Fraud investigations manager at SARS, Yousuf Denath says he was suspended for 15 months over bogus charges which include colluding with members of the illicit tobacco industry.
Denath says he was reinstated after he took the matter to the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) which found that there was no legal basis for the charges against him.
Another SARS official, who asked to remain anonymous due to the sensitive nature of her role in the crime investigations unit, said that Moyane established a tobacco task team in his office without following proper governance processes.
On Thursday morning the commission is expected to hear testimonies from SARS officials who acted on Moyane’s instructions.
