FBR unfreezes PIA accounts after high-level meeting

LAHORE: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) on Tuesday unfreeze the accounts of Pakistan International Airline (PIA) following a meeting between its chairman Dr Muhammad Ashfaq and PIA CEO Air Marshal Arshad Malik.

According to a spokesperson, PIA’s accounts were frozen due to non-payment of dues but after reaching an understanding between the top officials of both departments the issue has been resolved.

As many as 50 bank accounts of the PIA were frozen over non-payment of excise duty on air tickets.

“PIA collected Rs4 billion in Federal Excise Duty on tickets but did not pay it to the FBR for two years,” an FBR official said adding that Rs460 million has been recovered through frozen accounts of PIA.

The accounts will be frozen until the PIA becomes responsible for the remaining amount, spokesman Asad Tahir said. Meanwhile, the PIA spokesperson denied all allegations, saying the PIA has cleared Rs4.1 billion dues in 2021 despite a hard time with Covid-19 related restrictions.