Pravin Gordhan says the Sars unit was an essential part of the institution’s enforcement strategy.

JOHANNESBURG - Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan says he has now provided the Hawks with answers to the 27 questions they demanded he answer about the establishment of a South African Revenue Service(Sars) unit while he was its commissioner.

Gordhan says all of the legal advice he has received is that he establishment of the unit was legal.

The Hawks had demanded he answer questions about the unit but refused to tell Gordhan which offence it was investigating.

Gordhan says this Sars unit was an essential part of the institution's enforcement strategy and that as far as he is aware, it performed all of its functions legally.

He also says claims that it was illegal for Sars to have intelligence gathering capacity are wrong and based on a misreading of the law.

Gordhan goes on to say that if any of the unit's members broke the law, they did so without his knowledge.

He also says that there is no law that allowed the Hawks to threaten him with retaliation if he failed to respond to their questions.