FBR reopens Shaheen Air's Karachi office after briefly sealing it off

KARACHI: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) briefly sealed off central office of Shaheen Air in Karachi on Thursday, over non-payment of Rs910 million in Federal Excise Duty (FED).

According to the revenue authority, the office was ordered to be reopened after the private airline provided it with two cheques worth Rs910 million.

Prior to that, the central office of the airline was sealed off after talks between FBR officials and Shaheen Air administration failed in the evening.

While sealing off the office, a heated argument took place between the airline's chief security officer and FBR officials.

A spokesman for the airlines said that it was under pressure by the FBR with regard to payment of tax, and the revenue authority had refused to accept cheques from the airline.

The issue erupted because of Eid holidays, the spokesman added.

He further said that Shaheen Air was a law-abiding enterprise and it was aware of its responsibilities being the largest private airlines of the country.

The flight schedule and all operations of Shaheen Air were ongoing as per routine, the spokesman added.

Earlier in May, the FBR had asked Civil Aviation Authority to suspend local flight operations of Shaheen Air over failure to pay the FED, The News reported.

The FBR had also directed a bank to attach all the accounts of the company with immediate effect.

According to a letter sent to the director general of CAA, Rs521.397 million was recoverable from the Shaheen Air International Limited under Federal Excise Act, 2005.

But the airline spokesperson had said there was no conflict between them and FBR as it was a usual payment delay issue.