The South African Revenue Service (SARS) is fighting battles on two fronts, with defaulters Royal AM significantly losing commercial value and its continued membership with the PSL under serious threat.
There are reports SARS have been given permission by the High Court to sell Royal AM, who owe the taxman around R40 million.
However, the state finding a buyer in the midst this predicament would be easier said than done.
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First of all, with the club having multiple creditors, the potential buyers would need to factor in how much debt they would be inheriting, versus how much they would be paying SARS to acquire the club.
With the PSL status going for between R40 and R50 million and in Royal AM's case, the maximum would be R45 million, it is unlikely the buyer would be willing to cough up that valuation, where they would still need to settle debts.
As things stand, the KwaZulu-Natal side owe Samir Nurkovic monies believed to be in a region of R15 million and the club also are yet to settle their debt with Ricardo Nascimento.
Although the figure for the latter was not huge, at just under R700,000 by January, as the matter has been lodged with FIFA, it keeps on rising with interest every day it is not settled, including fees owed to Nurkovic.
KickOff.com understands that Nurkovic and Nascimento are not the only creditors owed by Royal AM but there are other claimants lining up behind the scenes to settle cases with the club involving transfer fees.
That scenario of Thwihli Thwahla's debt also hidden from the public domain presents SARS with a big stumbling block in trying to sell the club.
The only way the tax collector can dispose Royal AM is to cut off their losses and sell it under its original value or at a discount, so to speak, to allow the buyer to save it from being expelled.
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SARS are also facing pressure that should they not comply with PSL requirements and the club gets expelled, the amount of money they will get for selling the KwaZulu-Natal side in the Motsepe Foundation Championship will decrease significantly.
Royal AM are also under a transfer ban and are most likely to be serious relegation candidates, even if the club is sold to a new buyer.
The tax collector is running out of time to find a buyer, as firstly, the potential buyer would need to get approval from the PSL and the League are also pressed to make a definitive decision on the suspended fixtures of the embattled club.
They have at least seven league matches (and counting) pending, not including two rounds of Nedbank Cup fixtures, yet to play due to this matter.