Mumbai, March 3 (PTI): The crisis at Kingfisher Airlines deepened with the service tax department here freezing as many as 40 bank accounts of the already crippled airline for non-payment of dues to the tune of Rs 40 crore.

”Over Thursday and Friday, we froze 40 bank accounts of Kingfisher Airlines. They failed to meet the February 29 deadline to make the payments. The airline owes Rs 40 crore to the department,” service tax Commissioner SK Solanki told PTI on Saturday.

This is the fourth time in the past four months that the service tax department has frozen its bank accounts. Late last month, the income tax department had frozen the bank accounts for not depositing the tax deducted at source.

Asked if the airline had communicated with the department, he said, “Not yet as today being a Saturday. We hope to hear from them on Monday.”

The move follows as the airline failed to make an Rs 20 crore payment by February 29, as promised. However, Kingfisher spokesperson could not be immediately reached for comments. The airline was given time till February 29 to clear part payment and March 31 to pay off all the arrears to the tune of Rs 70 crore.

Since the account was frozen the first time in early November last year, the airline had paid only a little over Rs 30 crore, Solanki said.

It had paid Rs 10 crore in December, after its accounts were frozen in the early that month; Rs 20 crore in January and they had promised to pay Rs 20 crore in February.

On February 22, S K Goel , Chairman of the Central Board of Excise and Customs, which also handles service tax had said that the airline had to clear this indirect tax dues of Rs 70 crore before March 31.