President Cyril Ramaphosa's loss of confidence in Sars boss Tom Moyane was sufficient reason to exercise his executive power to fire him, provided it was rational.

This was at the heart of Ramaphosa’s case before the High Court in Pretoria on Tuesday, where arguments were heard in Moyane’s bid to get his job back.

Moyane’s counsel, Dali Mpofu, told the court that the sacked tax boss wanted to be reinstated - but remain on suspension so that he could “face the music”.

Mpofu said Moyane did not want to “go back to his desk” but was happy to remain on suspension and face a disciplinary inquiry.