Recently, a viral story did the rounds — a GST notice served to a vegetable seller in Karnataka for a sale of ₹3 million, which startled even seasoned observers. A tax demand of over ₹550,000. Interest, calculated at 18% per annum, adding close to ₹300,000. And a penalty equal to the original tax itself. Altogether, a ₹1.4 million rupee demand aimed at a man whose life revolves around buying perishable produce before dawn and selling it by dusk.Pause and consider what daily life looks like for a small vegetable trader. (S)He wakes before three in the morning, heads to the wholesale market, buys produce, pays for transport, ‘rents’ a street corner, and stands all day under the sun or rain hoping to sell enough to break even. Most such traders operate as sole proprietors with a single PAN. In theory, they could claim deductions if they kept detailed books, like any other business. In practice, they barely have time to pause, let alone maintain accounts. And while there is no GST on selling fresh fruits, vegetables and flowers the taxman can still appear if digital payments push turnover above a threshold. Mere cash flow is not revenue, and without grasping that difference, policy risks punishing those whose apparent numbers mask a far harsher truth.
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