Pani Puri vendors are ubiquitous in India dotting the streets and street corners of the country. The “delicacy” – as many savour it, is known by various names in different parts of the country – gol gappa for some, puchka for others.
Pani Puri is not a dish, it’s an emotion, says Manohar Katiyal, a person of Delhi origin now living in Bengaluru.
“Most vendors do not know how to make it as authentic as it could get. They just mix chutneys with water, dip the puris and serve by the roadside. That’s not the way nani (grandmom) used to make it”.
Anshuman Chatterjee from Calcutta, now settled in Chennai and who works for a British Bank’s back office in the city says, “Our puchkas are made differently back home in Bengal than what is served in Chennai or Mumbai Delhi. The Bangali touch is inevitable and makes its taste very unique”.
The dish is in discussion in this article and across social media because the Tamil Nadu GST Department has apparently sent a notice to a Pani Puri vendor.
The said vendor, who’s name is masked in the letter that has been shared on social media platforms, has been asked to appear in person to produce documents.
“Whereas based on the reports received from RazorPay and PhonePe, you have received UPI payments for outward supply of Goods/Services, and the payments received for the years 2021-22, 2022-23 and 2023-24 are as below;
2023-24 – Rs. 40,11,019, states the letter.
The notice has not been validated by this publication.
The letter from the GST Department goes on to say that the Vendor has not yet registered under the relevant act and also mentions that those with an aggregate annual turnover of over INR 20 lakhs are required to be registered.
The letter also notes the exemption provided by the Government to any person from registering for GST, who’s annual turnover is up to INR 40 lakhs.
The tweet posted by Dr. Jagdish Chatur, a stand-up comedian and an ENT surgeon has garnered 974,000 views as on 2 Jan. 2025.
CA Akash Singroli gave a breakdown of the vendor’s income on Twitter (now X).
According to him, all it takes is a daily revenue (sales of pani puri) amounting to INR 11,000 (USD 128) would make the vendor eligible for paying GST . He also notes, that after all expenses, the vendor would be earning around INR 20 lakhs pa.
Dr. Dheeraj K, Professor of Psychiatry at AIIMS New Delhi said that the earnings by the Pani Puri vendor is higher than a professor in many medical colleges!
Sid Jain, Co-Founder of DrDroid Dev said that he was now waiting for people to start making financial intelligence stories on how its better to be a pani puri seller than being an IT employee.
Editor’s Note
Several scores of Indians missed the woods for the trees when Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced demonetisation of INR 500 and INR 1,000 currency notes on 7 Nov. 2016.
What was actually seen as a way to get the black (unaccounted) money back in to the system by most Indians, was actually a master-move by the then Union Cabinet to move in to digital exchange of money for purchasing products and services.
By pushing the case of United Payments Interface – UPI transactions through third party apps such as PhonePe (by Flipkart) which has a near 48% market share followed by GooglePay, PayTM, among others, as well as through the BHIM App, the Government made it easier for Indians to pay through the digital methods instead of using cash.
During the Covid-19 challenges, the adoption of digital payments scored big as people were weary to touch currency notes used by others.
In its latest data report ‘Retail-O-Nomics’ by PayNearBy, India’s largest branchless banking and digital network, it has been reported that there is a 33% increase for FY 2023-24 in Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions at retail stores, underscoring the growing adoption of digital payments beyond Tier II regions in the country.
It is but natural that several thousands of shopkeepers and small vendors will eventually come under various tax nets in the coming years – both GST and personal Income Tax.
While it is yet to be seen whether the Pani Puri vendor’s case will get national attention including that of the GST council, it is clear that the overall taxation system in India is improving, with the addition of more taxpayers for nation development and is a long term work-in progress.
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