President Cyril Ramaphosa has accepted the recommendation by the SARS commission headed by retired judge Robert Nugent to fire suspended commissioner, Tom Moyane.

A spokesperson for the presidency confirmed to Business Day that the president took the action, and that it was with immediate effect.

In an interim report on the mismanagement of SARS, Nugent called on the president to fire Tom Moyane and appoint a replacement as the first step in turning around the beleaguered organisation.

“We consider it imperative that a new commissioner be appointed without delay to remove the uncertainty at SARS and enable it to be set on a firm course of recovery so as to arrest ongoing loss of revenue,” Nugent said.

The SARS head was suspended in March following a deterioration in the public’s confidence in him to manage the country’s tax affairs.

Under Moyane’s leadership at SARS, tax collection faltered, and the suspended commissioner’s name turned up in a number of scandals.

Moyane faced criticism from lawmakers for his handling of an investigation into accusations his former deputy Jonas Makwakwa and his partner received R1.2 million in suspicious payments, and allegations of mismanaging tax refunds.

Moyane has denied the allegations against him, and has called the Nugent commission biased and unfair.

He has previously expressed intent to take the commission’s findings to court.

Read: Nugent Commission calls on president Ramaphosa to fire Moyane