SARS Acts Against Corrupt Tax Officials
In a joint sting operation on Wednesday, two South African Revenue Service
(SARS) officials were arrested for allegedly taking a bribe from a taxpayer. The officials were based at a SARS office in Gauteng, and are believed to have
approached the taxpayer under the auspices of undertaking an audit. The officials
apparently then asked for money in exchange for “making the problem go
away”. According to SARS, the taxpayer cooperated with the Revenue Service, and as
a result of cooperation between the organisation’s Internal Corruption
Unit and the South African Police Service, one official was arrested following
the handover of money at a restaurant. An alleged accomplice was arrested in
the vicinity of the restaurant shortly afterwards. Both men have been suspended from their jobs with immediate effect. Commenting on the arrests, SARS stated that: "The public are reminded that any audit must be accompanied by a notice
on an official SARS letterhead with the SARS’s contact details. Moreover,
SARS auditors are not allowed to discuss payments before the completion of an
inspection." .
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