The commercial tax department is investigating a small but popular kachori outlet in Aligarh town of Uttar Pradesh after it discovered that the owner of the joint, Mukesh Kumar, has an annual turnover of Rs 60 lakh to Rs 70 lakh, but does not pay any tax, the Hindustan Times reported on Tuesday.
The shop, called Mukesh Kachori, is located near Seema Talkies and attracts many customers. The shop sells popular snacks kachoris and samosas.
Officials of the special investigation branch of the commercial tax department (Aligarh Range) conducted a search at the outlet’s premises based on a complaint received from Lucknow. They found that Kumar, despite his turnover, did not have a Goods and Services Tax registration. He has been running the shop for over a decade.
“We initially conducted a recce by watching the turnout of customers at different timings,” Commercial Tax Deputy Commissioner (Aligarh Range) Ravindra Pal Singh Kauntiye said. “After making an assessment, we got a search warrant on June 21. During the survey, the seller himself gave out the details which indicated that his turnover was in lakhs of rupees.”
Tax officials said Kumar’s annual income may actually be over Rs 1 crore. “Till March 31, businessmen having a turnover above Rs 20 lakh were required to have registration for the GST but from April 1, the limit has gone up to Rs 40 lakh,” Kauntiye said. “This kachori seller, despite having a high turnover, had no GST registration.”
The officer said the commercial tax department has issued a notice to Kumar, who has agreed to file for GST registration.
“I am not aware of all this,” Kumar told IANS. “I have been running my shop for the past 12 years and no one ever told me that these formalities are needed. We are simple people who sell ‘kachoris’ and ‘samosas’ for a living.”
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