Kingfisher Airlines misses deadline, more accounts frozen

MUMBAI: The service tax department has frozen some more bank accounts of debt-crippled Kingfisher Airlines for missing the deadline for clearing dues. Vijay Mallya-promoted Kingfisher had been given time till Wednesday to pay Rs 10 crore as arrears, but it could not meet the deadline till evening. Following this, the department attached all the bank accounts of the airline.

"The airline has been paying its dues so far at the rate of Rs 1 crore for every working day. Until this week, they have paid their dues but again missed the deadline," said a senior official of the Central Board of Excise & Customs (CBEC), the apex body that administers indirect taxes. CBEC had frozen all bank accounts of Kingfisher earlier this year for nonpayment of dues, but lifted it after the airline started clearing it. Last week, the airline could not stick to the payment schedule, prompting the CBEC to freeze most of its accounts.

Kingfisher was allowed to operate some accounts on the promise that it would pay up by February 29. A senior service tax official said the airline's management is in talks with CBEC officials to resolve the issue. Kingfisher declined to comment on the matter. The income-tax (IT) department, too, has frozen the airline's bank accounts for non-payment of TDS (tax deducted at source) dues of over Rs 300 crore. Senior officials said the repayment schedule offered by the airline was not acceptable to the department.