Aligarh, June 25 : Whoever said there is not much money in selling street food clearly never visited Mukesh and his shop near Seema cinema hall. Selling kachoris and samosas may have turned him into a crorepati, as per estimates made by tax officials who began assessing the shop’s daily sales recently.
The shop, named ‘Mukesh Kachori’, does brisk business every day and despite having limited options on the menu, has been a hot favourite among locals here. While the crowd here indicated that the food items on sale would be delicious, the state tax department received a complaint regarding sales and it is then that it sent some officials here to take stock.
The tax officials camped anonymously at an adjoining shop and began assessing the daily sales pattern. According to their estimates based on the number of customers and the number of food items sold – upto 50 plates per hour, Mukesh’s annual turnover was pegged at Rs 1.50 crore. And because Mukesh did not register his shop under Goods and Service Tax (GST) and never paid any tax, he was promptly issued a notice.
Mukesh, on his part, maintains he is innocent and that he was not aware of tax liabilities because his was a simple shop.
“I and my family have been running this shop for 12 years now. We are simple people and are not aware of taxation rules and policies,” he said, adding that the complaint against his shop could have been made by his rivals.
