Kingfisher Airlines (KFA) has paid around Rs 27 crore service tax as against Rs 70 crore which it owes to the service tax department, CNBC-TV18 has learnt.

In November- December last year, KFA's account was frozen twice by the Mumbai service tax department for non-payment of dues and it was only after getting an assurance from airline officials that they would deposit the due amount in three installments that the service tax department lifted its order.

The airline has been in news for quite sometime for either not settling its fuel bills with oil retailers or for grounding its aircraft to curtail losses on low density routes. Also, the airline reported a net loss of Rs.469 crore for the September quarter, though there was a 10.2% rise in revenues at Rs.1,528 crore, on account of massive spike in aviation fuel prices, and inability to hike fares due to the competition.