FBR freezes PIA accounts amid EU visit
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The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) has frozen the accounts of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) across the country for non-payment of taxes, reported 24NewsHD TV channel citing its sources on Wednesday.
The national airline owes the FBR a total of Rs 4.5 billion, out of which Rs 2.07 billion has to be recovered immediately, according to the sources.
The FBR sources also said that PIA has not filed its tax returns since February this year.
The move comes at a time when PIA is on a crucial visit to the European Union (EU) to resume its flight operations there. The EU had banned PIA flights in June 2020 over safety concerns.
The sources in the national airline said that freezing the accounts on the occasion of the visit is against the country's interests and could jeopardize the operation.
They also said that the FBR usually takes action to freeze PIA accounts in the last days of the month, but this time it did so earlier, adding to PIA's woes once again.
Reporter: Ashraf Khan