The Pakistani Federal Revenue Board (FRB), the national tax authority, briefly froze the PIA - Pakistan International Airlines (PK, Islamabad International) bank accounts on April 28, 2018, due to the carrier's delay in transferring around PKR1 billion rupees (USD8.6 million) in taxes, The Express Tribune has reported.

The airline's accounts were subsequently unblocked on May 2, after just one working day, as the carrier paid parts of its outstanding taxes and the two parties agreed to a payment plan for the transfer of the remaining amount.

The PKR1 billion rupees payment covered just one month of PIA's tax dues. The carrier collects, on behalf of the state, all excise and other taxes on tickets, as well as income taxes on the salaries of its employees.

According to The Express Tribune, PIA is chronically late with the transfer of its tax dues to the FRB, which should be made until the fifteenth day of the month following the tax period in question.

The total PIA debt to the FRB currently stands at some PKR32 billion rupees. However, the tax authority has been stopped from enforcing the immediate repayment of this sum by the government as it could threaten the survival of the flag carrier, an unnamed FRB official has said.