‘House must appoint Sars boss’
CALLS are mounting for a new SA Revenue Service (Sars) commissioner to be appointed by Parliament.
Nishana Gosai, formerly manager of the Sars transfer pricing unit, was the latest to make the call when she appeared before the Nugent Commission of Inquiry tasked to investigate tax administration and governance at the revenue agency.
Gosai, like other ex-Sars officials who have testified before the commission, led by retired Judge Robert Nugent, said difficulties with her work began following the appointment of commissioner Tom Moyane, who is under suspension, in September 2014.
Gosai said the ascendancy of Moyane was allegedly characterised by the collapse of authentic Sars units, including the compliance unit, which led to major companies and wealthy individuals not paying taxes and the apparent gross violation of legislation governing Sars.
Gosai’s unit was located within the large business centre (LBC), whose primary duty was to ensure that multinationals and large local companies were tax-compliant.
The commission has heard that prior to Moyane’s arrival, the LBC generated more than 30% of South Africa’s annual revenue collection.
Gosai told the commission her team of 25 officials had committed themselves to ensuring that equitable and fair transfer pricing was undertaken by multinational companies.
She said the dismantling of the LBC in October 2015 had severely affected her unit and demoralised her staff, adding they had not been consulted prior to the introduction of a new operational model at Sars.
She said prior to her resignation in June 2016, the LBC had been experiencing a
It should not be a decision of the ruling party
decline in revenue collection, and that was attributed to the exodus of highly skilled officials and their superiors’ interference in their work.
Gosai was adamant that Moyane and his executive council had seriously interfered in the smooth running of affairs at Sars.
She and other staff “were caught up in a political narrative” that badly affected the people of South Africa.
“The appointment of the Sars commissioner should not be a political decision. It should not be a decision of the ruling party. We are South Africans regardless of our political affiliations,” she said.
She said her resistance to the interference caused more trouble for her. “I left Sars after being put through a vexatious process. Sars spent more than R400 000 to put me through that process. I was intimidated and bullied, which forced me to involve the police in the matter,” Gosai said, declining to give further details.
Concluding her submission, Gosai asked the commission to recommend that the appointment of a future commissioner should be made by Parliament, and that the incumbent’s role, including reporting lines, should be clearly defined.
In June, former Sars acting commissioner Ivan Pillay, during the commission’s first set of hearings, also called for a future commissioner to be appointed by Parliament.