Restaurants are supposed to collects Goods and Service Tax (GST) from customers and credit into government coffers. The rate of GST varies from 5 per cent to 18 percent depending on location of the restaurant and the food/beverage served. Certain restaurants are given input tax credit facility as well. What if the restaurants enriching themselves through the GST collected from customers? Several restaurants have found innovative ways to eat away tax revenue of the government.
Recently I visited Chennai and had the chance to enjoy food at various restaurants. In most of the restaurants, the dining tables are allotted to specific waiters. Nothing unusual in such allotments. The waiters collect payment on behalf of the restaurant. This is also common. Most of the customers pay through UPI and the waiters collect bill through QR Code. This is also a familiar practice. The surprise came when I visited my favorite restaurant the second time.
Breakfast time. A new day. A new table. The same restaurant.
As usual I ordered Mini Breakfast Thali for myself. Enjoyed breakfast and asked for the bill. The waiter came with the bill and showed a QR code for making UPI payment. Here lied the surprise. The QR code of the previous day was different from that of today. I caught hold of the waiter.
When enquired about the anomaly in QR code, the waiter revealed it all. Each table in the restaurant collected bill through separate QR Code. The QR code was related to the bank account of different waiters. The bank accounts of waiters were under control of the restaurant owner. What an intelligent idea sir ji!
The restaurant was not only charging 5 percent (minimum slab of GST for restaurant) more from the customer in the name of GST, but also decentralizing its income through waiters to save income tax. A desi way of GST and direct tax evasion!
This is a wake-up call for our tax sleuths. Even small business outlets may devise innovative ways to evade tax.
