How much does an average Kachori seller earn annually? Apparently lakhs!

In an unusual development, GST officials raided a shop selling Kachoris in Aligarh and found that the owner had an annual income of Rs 60-70 lakhs.

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The shop owner, identified as Mukesh Kumar had been his small shop for more than 10-12 years in Aligarh.

During the raid, Mukesh reportedly disclosed details about his daily income, expenditure and the number of people working under him, based on which they calculated his annual turnover to be around Rs 70 lakh.

They also found that Kumar despite his high income did not have a GST registration.

According to a GST Council notification, any business with an annual turnover of Rs 40 lakh is liable to pay GST.

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The officials also said that as per rules the kachori seller is liable to pay 5% GST, which is levied on food items. He will now have to pay an annual tax of Rs 3.5 lakh.

Kumar who agreed to get a GST registration claimed that he was unaware of the rules.

"I am not aware of all this. 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," Kumar told IANS.

Officials now believe that Kumar was the tip of the iceberg and there could be more such sellers in the city making even higher incomes, but paying no tax.