The Central Board of Excise and Customs (CBEC) has ordered a freeze on Kingfisher Airlines' bank accounts for non-payment of service tax arrears.

“They were paying Rs 1 crore per day. For the past few days, there has been an interruption. They have not been able to pay. So, we have frozen their accounts 2-3 days ago by issuing a letter to the bank”, Mr S.K.Goel, CBEC Chairman, told reporters on the sidelines of an event here on Friday.

He said the airline had paid half of the Rs 70 crore it owed to the Government towards service tax arrears.

>krsrivats@thehindu.co.in