Debt-ridden Kingfisher Airlines’ promoter Vijay Mallya today called on Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) chairman S K Goel and sought de-freezing of the carrier's bank accounts, a senior finance ministry official said.
Last week, the CBEC froze 10 accounts of Kingfisher Airlines for defaulting on the service tax it had collected from passengers.
Last week, Goel had said Kingfisher owed Rs 110 crore towards service tax for April-November.
Mallya has promised to clear November service tax dues within a day, the ministry official said. "He is seeking to resolve the issue and will pay November service tax (dues) by tomorrow morning," the official said requesting anonymity.
The November service tax dues are estimated at Rs 10-15 crore. Coming out after meeting Goel at North Block, Mallya refused to speak to waiting reporters. Sources said Mallya also assured that the remaining service tax dues would be cleared by March 31.
Meanwhile, another debt-ridden carrier, Air India today paid Rs 8 crore towards service tax for the month of November, sources said. As many as 11 bank accounts of Air India were frozen by the tax authorities for non-payment of service tax.
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Kingfisher's accounts have been frozen twice recently by the service tax department.
Its accounts were first frozen for two days in the first week of November and it was only after getting an assurance from the airline officials that they would deposit the dues in three installments the department withdrew its order.
The debt-laden airline has a total outstanding loan liability of Rs 6,419.60 crore, which includes Rs 9,730.37 crore provided to Kingfisher for non-fund based activities.