President Cyril Ramaphosa has until noon on Tuesday to indicate whether he is prepared to take the stand against suspended Sars commissioner Tom Moyane – and reveal specifically how he lost confidence in the tax boss.

If Ramaphosa does not agree to giving evidence in Moyane’s disciplinary inquiry‚ and declines to consider giving him state funding for his legal fees‚ the commissioner’s lawyers look set to head to court to fight for his demands.

The charges against Moyane concern his handling of serious criminal allegations against his former second-in-command Jonas Makwakwa‚ the “irregular” and unlawful payment of bonuses‚ and allegations that he misled parliament and told a Sars official not to co-operate with the so-called rogue unit investigation.

Ramaphosa indicated that he lost confidence in Moyane following a meeting with the tax boss at his private residence in March this year. During that meeting‚ Moyane’s lawyer Eric Mabuza says‚ Ramaphosa lost his temper with Moyane and “shouted” at him.