Service tax department has said that it has frozen the bank accounts of Air India and Kingfisher Airlines due to non-payment of due payments.

The move came as the two airlines were found to have collected crores of rupees from their passengers but haven’t paid to the government. Kingfisher Airlines is facing the action for the second time in less than month.

Air India has to pay about Rs 150 crore, while Kingfisher has to pay up Rs 70 crore to the service tax department in Mumbai. S K Solanki, commissioner of service tax (zone 1, Mumbai commissionerate) of the Central Board of Excise and Customs said that the authority has frozen 11 accounts of AI and 10 of Kingfisher due to non payment of the service tax.

The freezing of accounts came after the airlines were given enough time to make the payments but they did not comply. Kingfisher had to pay for April-September period and AI has to pay the dies for April-August period.

Solanki also said that the department had frozen the accounts of Kingfisher for two days for two days in November and released them only after the company promised to make the payments in three installments.