Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) is once again in hot waters as the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has seized the national flag carrier’s bank accounts for non-payment of taxes.
The amount in question is a staggering Rs. 2.86 billion, according to a letter from Deputy Commissioner Inland Revenue, Sharjeel Ahmed, to the bank’s manager.
This is not the first time the FBR has taken such action against the PIA. In January last year, the FBR froze 53 bank accounts of PIA for defaulting on taxes worth Rs. 26 billion.
The accounts were later restored after PIA’s CEO met with the tax body’s chief, promising to pay the arrears despite the challenges the airline was facing.
The freezing of the accounts would have had severe repercussions for PIA’s operations, including its countryside operations. Additionally, there were reports of arrest warrants being issued for the PIA managing director to recover the dues.
It’s worth noting that the government approved a bailout package worth Rs. 44 billion for PIA in September 2021. The package was to be given in the form of cash and sovereign guarantees to help the national flag carrier, which had incurred losses of Rs. 542 billion by June 2020.
To facilitate borrowing, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) of the Cabinet extended the guarantee limit from Rs. 226 billion to Rs. 247.6 billion.
It remains to be seen what action the government will take next to address PIA’s financial woes, but this latest development is undoubtedly a blow to the airline’s already precarious situation.
Via: Tribune
it’s about dammed time that PIA gets the tax fraud investing and I hope they have to pay their tax
This is not just PIA’s issue, but many companies collect taxes from customers but do not deposit them with FBR.