The general secretary for public revenues, Katerina Savvaidou, has been asked by the government to step down after it emerged that she has been asked to appear before anti-corruption prosecutors next week to answer questions about a second alleged case of breach of duty.

Finance Minister Euclid Tsakalotos asked Savvaidou to step down after discussing the matter with Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras. Government sources said that doubts about Savvaidou could not be permitted at a time the coalition is trying to step up efforts to tackle graft.

One of the charges of breach of duty, which she will be questioned about next week, concerns Savvaidou’s alleged decision to review a fine of 78 million euros imposed on an IT company despite the fact that the penalty had been approved by a special arbitration committee for tax matters.

The head of the independent revenue service also faces misdemeanor charges because in January she allegedly extended the time that TV stations had to hand over to the state revenues from a special tax on advertisements.