President Cyril Ramaphosa's commission of inquiry into governance at the embattled South African Revenue Service has begun its work, the team now edging toward a tight deadline in September.
The team, headed by retired judge Robert Nugent -- and assisted by Michael Katz, Mabongi Masilo and Vuyo Kahla -- has been tasked to investigate mismanagement at the revenue service.
Presidency spokesperson Khusela Sangoni told HuffPost that the team "had begun their work and the commission is on track".
Ramaphosa wants the commission to deliver an interim report by September and a final report by the end of November.
In his terms of reference, Ramaphosa wants a host of issues investigated, including allegations of unauthorised payments of bonuses to top executives, the adherence to tax administrative processes, and the adherence to customs and excise provisions.
Most interestingly, the inquiry will focus on whether Sars compromised its procedures to favour politically-connected individuals. It is believed this part of the investigation will centre largely around former president Jacob Zuma and his family.
The commission will have to investigate whether the SARS leadership knowingly omitted to provide or withheld information that was necessary.
The inquiry will be separate from the disciplinary proceedings against suspended Sars commissioner, Tom Moyane, who was given the boot in March over his handling of the Financial Intelligence Centre (FIC) report on suspicious and unusual transactions in the bank accounts of his second-in-charge, Jonas Makwakwa.