'KPMG has not done enough': Pravin Gordhan

KPMG South Africa issued a statement on Friday, admitting to shortcomings and that the report did not meet the necessary standards.

"Our standards require a second partner to review the work done; however, the final deliverable of this work was not subjected to second partner review," reads the statement by KPMG.

It further admits that the language used in the report is "unclear" and leaves some of the findings open to different interpretations.

KPMG says due to its failure to comply with its own controls the "part of the report which refers to conclusions, recommendations and legal opinions should no longer be relied upon."

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The report into the so-called 'Rogue Unit' resulted in a number of former senior officials at the revenue service losing their jobs and facing possible prosecution.

Gordhan is one of the officials implicated.

He was sent 27 questions by the Hawks shortly before delivering the Budget in Parliament in 2016.

Gordhan was subsequently summoned by the NPA, along with former Sars officials Ivan Pillay and Oupa Magashula, only to have the case against them withdrawn.

"This report was the basis of many harmful actions that were done to our economy and the reputation of our country and the reputation of those affected," former SARS spokesperson Adrian Lackay told Jacarandafm News.

But now KPMG says it does not support the interpretation of its report that Gordhan - then SARS commissioner - "knew, or ought to have known" about the nature of the unit.

Gordhan however insists the auditing firm should admit that the unit was legal and its activites were within the law.

The former minister, along with the other officials implicated, will be seeking legal advice on how to proceed.

KPMG has meanwhile contacted SARS and offered to repay the R23-million fee it received or to make a donation of the same amount to charity.