Pakistan tax fraud watchdog acts against PIA

Emergency government intervention has seen the restoration of 53 PIA – Pakistan International Airlines (PK, Islamabad Quaid-e-Azam Int’l) bank accounts frozen by Pakistan’s tax fraud watchdog after the airline defaulted on PKR26 billion rupees (USD147.2 million) worth of federal excise duties on airline tickets.

Federal Finance Minister Shaukat Tareen intervened after the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) froze the state-owned airline’s bank accounts and garnished them of PKR495 million (USD2.8 million) in ticket levies unpaid since December 2020, according to the Daily Pakistan newspaper. The FBR is Pakistan’s federal law enforcement agency that investigates tax crimes, suspicious accumulation of wealth, and money laundering.

The FBR reportedly has initiated proceedings to arrest PIA Chief Executive Officer Arshad Malik to recover the rest of the money.

During an emergency meeting with FBR chairman Muhammad Ashfaq Ahmed, Malik had given his assurances the airline would pay its overdue taxes despite current challenging economic conditions, reports the Urdu-language Jasarat online newspaper.

Daily Aaj, another Urdu-language newspaper, reported that PIA had previously been given a year’s grace to pay its dues.