Some relief granted to cash strapped PIA
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The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) received relief from its financial troubles as the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) restored all 26 of the airline's bank accounts on Wednesday.
This action followed a written assurance from the national flag carrier that it would make all payments this month.
According to the FBR, out of the total Rs8 billion owed by PIA, it will pay Rs2.5 billion this month. The freezing of accounts had previously led to financial difficulties for PIA, including delays in salary payments to its staff for August.
The national flag carrier's spokesman also confirmed the restoration of the accounts. Two weeks ago, on August 31, the FBR froze PIA's 26 bank accounts due to non-payment of federal excise duty amounting to Rs8.84 billion. PIA had pledged to pay Rs2 billion this month, but this commitment had not been fulfilled.
The FBR attributed the issue to PIA's senior management, accusing them of using separate accounts and failing to deposit the federal excise duty collected from passengers into the national treasury. The FBR had also lodged a complaint with the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) under the anti-money laundering act against PIA management for the use of FED funds.
It's important to note that the freezing of bank accounts did not impact PIA's flight operations, as clarified by a PIA spokesman.
