President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Wednesday file an affidavit to substantiate the case against Tom Moyane, whom he suspended as commissioner of the South African Revenue Service (Sars), his spokesperson said.

Ramaphosa had missed the Friday deadline to submit the document, causing major discontent from Moyane’s legal representative.

"We had communicated with Moyane’s lawyer and the presiding officer regarding the extension of the deadline. We had requested an extension because the document that was being compiled is quite comprehensive and lengthy," said Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Khusela Diko.

"The extension that we requested was up to today [Wednesday], so we will be filing the affidavit today," said Diko.

Ramaphosa suspended Moyane on March 19, accusing him of contributing to the "deterioration in public confidence at SARS and public finances being compromised". 

He is facing 12 charges of misconduct and violation of his duties and responsibilities as commissioner of Sars.

The inquiry probing Moyane’s misconduct would be chaired by Advocate Azhar Bham.

Moyane’s lawyer, Eric Mabuza, lamented the delay by the president, saying the ball was now on his court. Moyane has maintained his innocence, and initially challenged the fairness of the inquiry.

He challenged the technical aspects of the process such as that evidence would be submitted in writing. He wanted to make oral presentations instead. 

According to the disciplinary hearing’s terms of reference, oral evidence would be heard only at the panel chair’s discretion.