South Africa’s tax chief has taken legal advice in an extraordinary bid to prevent Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan calling the shots at the South African Revenue Service‚ the Sunday Times reported.

The standoff between Gordhan and SARS boss Tom Moyane is potentially embarrassing for President Jacob Zuma‚ who is close to Moyane but who has to be seen to be backing Gordhan as South Africa attempts to get its public finances in order to counter the threat of a ratings downgrade.

So serious is the tension between the two men that they have met at least three times in less than a month — with no resolution in sight — over Moyane’s new operating model‚ according to three independent sources‚ two of them senior SARS officials.

Gordhan has constitutional powers for political oversight of SARS while Moyane has administrative powers as the accounting officer.