52. Inquiry proceedings
(1) The presiding officer determines the conduct of the inquiry as the presiding officer thinks fit.
(2) The presiding officer must ensure that the recording of the proceedings and evidence at the inquiry is of a standard that would meet the standard required for the proceedings and evidence to be used in a court of law.
(3) A person has the right to have a representative present when that person appears as a witness before the presiding officer.
CHAPTER 6
CONFIDENTIALITY OF INFORMATION
Part B
Reportable arrangements
Part A
General rules for inspection, verification, audit and criminal investigation
53. Notice to appear
(1) The presiding officer may, by notice in writing, require a person, whether or not chargeable to tax, to-
(a) appear before the inquiry, at the time and place designated in the notice, for the purpose of being examined under oath or solemn declaration, and
(b) produce any relevant material in the custody of the person.
(2) If the notice requires the production of relevant material, it is sufficient if the relevant material is referred to in the notice with reasonable specificity.
67. General prohibition of disclosure
(1) This Chapter applies to-
(a) SARS confidential information as referred to in section 68(1); and
(b) taxpayer information, which means any information provided by a taxpayer or obtained by SARS in respect of the taxpayer, including biometric information.
(2) An oath or solemn declaration undertaking to comply with the requirements of this Chapter in the prescribed form, must be taken before a magistrate, justice of the peace or commissioner of oaths by-
(a) a SARS official and the Tax Ombud, before commencing duties or exercising any powers under a tax Act; and
(b) a person referred to in section 70 who performs any function referred to in that section, before the disclosure described in that section may be made.
(3) In the event of the disclosure of SARS confidential information or taxpayer information contrary to this Chapter, the person to whom it was so disclosed may not in any manner disclose, publish or make it known to any other person who is not a SARS official.
(4) A person who receives information under section 68, 69, 70 or 71, must preserve the secrecy of the information and may only disclose the information to another person if the disclosure is necessary to perform the functions specified in those sections.
(5) The Commissioner may, for purposes of protecting the integrity and reputation of SARS as an organisation and after giving the taxpayer at least 24 hours’ notice, disclose taxpayer information to the extent necessary to counter or rebut false allegations or information disclosed by the taxpayer, the taxpayer’s duly authorised representative or other person acting under the instructions of the taxpayer and published in the media or in any other manner.
34. Definitions
In this Part and in section 212, unless the context indicates otherwise, the following terms, if in single quotation marks, have the following meanings:
40. Selection for inspection, verification or audit
SARS may select a person for inspection, verification or audit on the basis of any consideration relevant for the proper administration of a tax Act, including on a random or a risk assessment basis.
54. Powers of presiding officer
The presiding officer has the same powers regarding witnesses at the inquiry as are vested in a president of the tax court under sections 127 and 128.
68. SARS confidential information and disclosure
(1) SARS confidential information means information relevant to the administration of a tax Act that is-
(a) personal information about a current or former SARS official, whether deceased or not;
(b) information subject to legal professional privilege vested in SARS;
(c) information that was supplied in confidence by a third party to SARS the disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to prejudice the future supply of similar information, or information from the same source;
(d) information related to investigations and prosecutions described in section 39 of the Promotion of Access to Information Act;
(e) information related to the operations of SARS, including an opinion, advice, report, recommendation or an account of a consultation, discussion or deliberation that has occurred, if-
(i) the information was given, obtained or prepared by or for SARS for the purpose of assisting to formulate a policy or take a decision in the exercise of a power or performance of a duty conferred or imposed by law; and
(ii) the disclosure of the information could reasonably be expected to frustrate the deliberative process in SARS or between SARS and other organs of state by-
(aa) inhibiting the candid communication of an opinion, advice, report or recommendation or conduct of a consultation, discussion or deliberation; or
(bb) frustrating the success of a policy or contemplated policy by the premature disclosure thereof;
(f) information about research being or to be carried out by or on behalf of SARS, the disclosure of which would be likely to prejudice the outcome of the research;
(g) information, the disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to prejudice the economic interests or financial welfare of the Republic or the ability of the government to manage the economy of the Republic effectively in the best interests of the Republic, including a contemplated change or decision to change a tax or a duty, levy, penalty, interest and similar moneys imposed under a tax Act or the Customs and Excise Act;
(h) information supplied in confidence by or on behalf of another state or an international organisation to SARS;
(i) a computer program, as defined in section 1(1) of the Copyright Act, 1978 (Act No. 98 of 1978), owned by SARS;
(j) information relating to the security of SARS buildings, property, structures or systems; and
(k) information relating to the verification or audit selection procedure or method used by SARS, the disclosure of which could reasonably be expected to jeopardise the effectiveness thereof.
(2) A person who is a current or former SARS official-
(a) may not disclose SARS confidential information to a person who is not a SARS official;
(b) may not disclose SARS confidential information to a SARS official who is not authorised to have access to the information; and
(c) must take the precautions that may be required by the Commissioner to prevent a person referred to in paragraph (a) or (b) from obtaining access to the information.
(3) A person who is a SARS official or former SARS official may disclose SARS confidential information if-
(a) the information is public information;
(b) authorised by the Commissioner;
(c) disclosure is authorised under any other Act which expressly provides for the disclosure of the information despite the provisions in this Chapter;
(d) access has been granted for the disclosure of the information in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act; or
(e) required by order of a High Court.