CAPE TOWN, Dec. 11 (Xinhua) -- South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday welcomed a court ruling upholding the president's dismissal of Tom Moyane as Commissioner of the South African Revenue Service (SARS).
The ruling was a step towards stabilizing SARS at a time when efficient revenue collection and tax justice is vital to economic recovery, Ramaphosa said.
It will also help restore the confidence of corporate and personal taxpayers in this important public institution, said the president.
He said he will soon initiate the process to appoint a new SARS commissioner.
Earlier on Tuesday, the North Gauteng High Court dismissed Moyane's application to have his dismissal overturned.
The court said the national interest far outweighed that of Moyane's interest, hence the dismissal to lift the status quo.
Ramaphosa ended Moyane's tenure at SARS in November following a recommendation by a commission of inquiry into governance of the revenue service and tax administration.
Moyane subsequently engaged in litigation to overturn his dismissal, interdict the appointment of a new SARS commissioner and to prevent the commission of inquiry from submitting its final report.
The commission proposed in its interim report submitted at the end of September that Moyane be dismissed because he does not have the character of a person fit to lead SARS.
Moyane is blamed for significant tax undercollection during his tenure. Tax revenue was projected to fall short of the 2017 budget estimate by 50.8 billion rand (about 3.5 billion U.S. dollars) for that fiscal year. This was the largest undercollection since the 2009 recession.
