[LISTEN] How Sars paved the way for illicit smuggling to bloom
The Commission of Inquiry into governance and tax administration at the South African Revenue Service (SARS) heard damning testimony on Thursday.
Improper conduct by top officials at SARS was laid bare as former employees chronicled what went wrong at the revenue service.
“It wasn’t by accident, it was caused,” said the former head of Tax and Customs Enforcement, Gene Ravele.
Ravele, who worked at the revenue service for 16 years, gave chilling evidence to Judge Robert Nugent, detailing how suspended Sars boss, Tom Moyane brought governance to its knees at the institution.
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It is the third day of the hearings into tax administration and governance irregularities.
He described how specialised units, which contributed billions in tax revenue, were demolished to pave the way for illicit smuggling to “continue the way they wish”.
“The whole operating model review thing was about dismantling enforcement,” Ravele told he commission.
When asked what the impact of the dismantling was on the economy, Ravele replied “huge”.
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“There were specialised units like the Projects Unit for example that investigated cases that rigged in billions, those units have been dissolved – no reasons given just because they were ‘rogue’”.