Julius Malema’s SARS deal collapses

THE agreement between Julius Malema and the South African Revenue Service (SARS) collapsed on Monday, after the revenue collector applied to court for a final sequestration order against the firebrand politician.

Judge Ferdi Preller ruled that the matter be extended to June 1, when lawyers for the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader would be expected to file affidavits opposing the SARS application.

In February last year the court granted a provisional sequestration order against Mr Malema. If a final order were granted, Mr Malema would be ineligible to lead the EFF in Parliament.

The SARS application on Monday was unexpected as Mr Malema had repeatedly stated in public that he was complying with the conditions of a compromise agreement made last May that provided him with time to settle outstanding taxes and interest amounting to R18m.

Mr Malema’s lawyer, Tumi Mokwena, told the court that his client had complied with the agreement and paid off the full SARS debt in November last year.

Mr Mokwena, who told reporters outside court that the SARS application had a "political" motive, had expected the court to confirm that Mr Malema had complied with the agreement.

Mr Malema did not attend the court proceedings on Monday. On Sunday, those close to him also said they expected SARS to "prolong the matter for political reasons".

The compromise agreement covered Mr Malema’s outstanding taxes until 2010, and also provided that further assessments for tax years 2011 and 2012 would follow.

The agreement was secured under suspended SARS deputy commissioner Ivan Pillay, who headed the revenue service until President Jacob Zuma appointed Tom Moyane as commissioner, in September last year.

In a statement following the agreement, SARS set out the conditions of the deal, saying that the final sequestration order would be brought into effect if those conditions were not met.

It said Mr Malema would be held accountable if it was found that he had failed to disclose a material fact relating to his settlement, supplied materially incorrect information or failed to comply with provisions or conditions contained in the agreement.

In August 2013, SARS invoked a section of tax law allowing it to disclose Mr Malema’s tax details in public, after saying he made "false allegations" against the institution.