The excise department has sent a notice to SpiceJet to pay up ₹62-crore dues in taxes.
The department also sent a notice to Yes Bank, which is the airline’s operating bank, asking it to freeze the account of the debt-strapped company, till such time the payment was not done by the company.
SpiceJet was given time till April 7 to pay its dues
However, SpiceJet was given time till April 7 to pay its dues. Multiple sources confirmed that SpiceJet get a notice from the excise department, requesting the remittance of taxes for at least two financial years. Multiple sources confirmed that SpiceJet get a notice from the excise department, demanding the remittance of taxes for at least two financial years.
An official in the excise department said, “The company has been issued multiple notices to repay the taxes. However, it has failed to do so. We sent them a notice to pay the taxes, again, and the airline failed to do so.”
The source also told that the department had also written notice to Yes Bank, which is its operating bank to freeze its account. “The letter was sent to SpiceJet and Yes Bank under Section 79 of the CGST and HGST Act, 2017, for recovery of dues. It is a standard procedure that the department follows to recover the dues..” The source said that other banks, too, may have gat a similar notice.
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SpiceJet requested the department
- However, SpiceJet requested the department to give them some time to repay its dues. Hence, the excise department gave them a fortnight till April 7 to repay dues. The same was communicated to Yes Bank as well.
Non-payment of GST dues
When contacted, a spokesperson for the airline told, “SpiceJet is in the process of discharging its current GST liability since October 2021 on regular basis. The company is already making payments as per a mutually-agreed payment plan. There is no freeze on any of our accounts which are working normally.”
BusinessLine had said in August last year that a similar matter related to non-payment of GST dues is already being heard in the Haryana and Chandigarh High Court, where SpiceJet had stated that it wanted to pay the dues to the tune of ₹80 crores in installments.
In November last year, the court had told that if SpiceJet failed to pay monthly installments, then the GST department could take action against the company. It wasn’t approved directly whether the said notices were regarding the same matter or not.
Auditors of the debt-strapped airline had cast doubt on the ability of the airline to remain a going concern as its net worth has eroded. In the annual report for FY21, the independent auditors pointed out that SpiceJet has defaulted on tax payments, GST payments, and employee provident fund dues in FY21 totaling ₹90 crores.
Over 45 days ago, SpiceJet had asked ₹500 crores for an operating capital loan from Yes Bank, which has still not been granted to the airline.
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