Former Judge Robert Nugent has ruled that the South African Revenue Service (Sars) commission on inquiry will not stop after lawyers for the tax agency's former commissioner Tom Moyane asked it be put on hold pending his upcoming disciplinary inquiry.  

He was also asked to rule that all the evidence of the past three days - when Advocate Dali Mpofu among others, gave evidence defending Moyane, be expunged from the record. 

Nugent was further asked to rule that Sars pays Moyane's legal costs. 

“The document is a disgrace,” said Nugent, the commission's chair, in reference to a document submitted to him by Moyane’s lawyers last week. In the submission, Moyane’s lawyers asked that the inquiry stop.  

Fin24 has not seen the submission. 

Nugent said on Monday that the inquiry would continue, and the submission he received was littered with “abuse, invective and sinister suggestion”. 

He said the inquiry could not dissolve itself, as it was established by presidential proclamation. 

“[The commission] has been instructed to fulfil its terms if reference,” said Nugent, adding that Moyane was not placed in “double jeopardy” by the commission’s performance of its functions.

Memory stick 

Nugent, a retired Supreme Court of Appeal judge said that counsel for Mr Moyane had also handed him a memory stick which was alleged to contain information proving the existence of a 'rogue unit' within the agency. 

"And he proposed that I share it with the media. If Mr Moyane wishes to distribute material to the media then he must do it himself," said Nugent.

"The commission will certainly not do so on his behalf."

Nugent said that, if it was relevant the the commission's terms of reference,  the commission would investigate whether the rogue unit existed "through proper and credible evidence".