The South African Revenue Service (Sars) says it is applying its mind to the implications of the Constitutional Court judgment in the case involving a request to access certain tax records of former president Jacob Zuma.

The request was made in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (Paia) and was declined by Sars on the basis that legislation prohibited it from acting in any other way.

On Tuesday the court made findings regarding the constitutional invalidity of certain provisions of the Paia and the Tax Administration Act. It has ordered that parliament, within the next 24 months, considers measures to address the constitutional validity. It directed that the request for the record must be reconsidered by Sars.

While Sars is considering the application of the judgment in full, commissioner Edward Kieswetter said taxpayer confidentiality remains fundamental to the entity’s administration.

“The judgment does not set aside the tax confidentiality provisions. It sets a high threshold to meet when access is requested to the tax records of a taxpayer.

“We respect the findings of the court and are applying our mind to exact implication for Sars and taxpayers.

“I wish to assure all taxpayers that any request made under Paia for the tax records of a taxpayer will be judiciously scrutinised within the parameters set by the Constitutional Court. We must guard any frivolous abuse of the provisions set out by the Constitutional Court.”

Source: TimesLIVE