Sars deputy head suspended again

Deputy Commissioner Ivan Pillay appointed a panel to investigate alleged rogue Sars spy units. In a surprise twist, Sars has suspended him and he faces charges of corruption, dishonesty and contravention of national security legislation.

Deputy Commissioner Ivan Pillay appointed a panel to investigate alleged rogue Sars spy units. In a surprise twist, Sars has suspended him and he faces charges of corruption, dishonesty and contravention of national security legislation.

Published Jan 23, 2015

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Johannesburg - The impasse at the SA Revenue Service (Sars) over the suspension of senior managers looks set to continue.

Deputy commissioner Ivan Pillay was again suspended on Wednesday night and there is no indication of when arbitration in the labour dispute between the two will be resolved.

The Star understands that the Commission for Conciliation, Mediation and Arbitration (CCMA) again deferred making an order in the dispute, which was referred to the CCMA late last year.

Labour Court Judge Annelie Basson deferred the ruling on the question of whether Pillay’s first suspension followed Sars’s due procedure, to the CCMA last month. But The Star has been told that Pillay’s first attempt at arbitration at the CCMA last week was stymied by Sars saying it had not received notice of the hearing.

Sars’s lawyer, David Maphakela, did not respond to The Star’s calls.

A spanner was thrown in the works late on Wednesday after Pillay was suspended for a second time – hours after his lawyers lodged a new application at the Labour Court.

His lawyer, Aadil Patel, would not comment, but confirmation of the suspension was obtained in writing from Sars.

Sars added that Pillay had been given until last Friday to submit reasons why he should not be suspended, after last year’s Labour Court ruling that the first suspension was illegal.

At the time of going to publication, The Star was told that Pillay had not been given any charges even though he was being investigated.

On Thursday, Sars declined to provide details that could shed light on the suspensions and departures that have rocked the institution.

“Sars will not make public statements about the details of disciplinary procedures against employees while internal labour processes are under way,” Sars wrote on Thursday.

Earlier this week, DA spokeswoman on justice, Glynnis Breytenbach, said the “Zuma-ANC” was “hell-bent” on bending state institutions, including Sars, for its own political ends.

She was speaking about the National Prosecuting Authority (NPA), and the suspension of Hawks boss, Anwa Dramat.

On Thursday, DA leader Helen Zille entered the fray, vowing that the opposition would continue to expose the “systematic breaking down of our institutions, from the Hawks to SARS, to the NPA by President Zuma and his network”.

ANC spokesman Zizi Kodwa dismissed the comments as an effort to discredit the ANC.

“There are government decisions that the ANC has nothing to do (with). They are decisions that are issues of employer and employee… President Zuma is not running day-to-day the NPA, the Hawks, Sars and all these institutions,” he said.

The Star

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