—Darshan Mitwa
When the shopkeeper saw an Income-tax officer, alongwith his four subordinates, coming in his shop; he at once stood up from his padded seat and set right his spectacles also. He welcomed them with his folded-hands and hurriedly cleaned the chairs with his own ‘dhoti’ (cloth worn round the waist to cover the lower body). As soon as they sat on the chairs, juice and cashew-nuts were offered to them. After the shopkeeper’s hospitality, the officer authoritatively took the ledger-books regarding accounts and go through them for just a formality. He stared at one page and got astonished to notice it. He started smiling and showed that page to his subordinates also. They also smiled and said it’s very strange that he had even entered a single account of dog’s meal to save his income-tax. The entry in the ledger was “Dog’s meal Rs. 50/-, dated: 12-05-89” when they were smiling after seeing that entry, the shopkeeper also joined with them. When they went away, the shopkeeper opened his ledger again. He entered the total expenditure of juice and cashew-nuts of that day and wrote in it, “Dogs meal Rs. 105/- dated 29-05-89.”
When the shopkeeper saw an Income-tax officer, alongwith his four subordinates, coming in his shop; he at once stood up from his padded seat and set right his spectacles also. He welcomed them with his folded-hands and hurriedly cleaned the chairs with his own ‘dhoti’ (cloth worn round the waist to cover the lower body). As soon as they sat on the chairs, juice and cashew-nuts were offered to them. After the shopkeeper’s hospitality, the officer authoritatively took the ledger-books regarding accounts and go through them for just a formality. He stared at one page and got astonished to notice it. He started smiling and showed that page to his subordinates also. They also smiled and said it’s very strange that he had even entered a single account of dog’s meal to save his income-tax. The entry in the ledger was “Dog’s meal Rs. 50/-, dated: 12-05-89” when they were smiling after seeing that entry, the shopkeeper also joined with them. When they went away, the shopkeeper opened his ledger again. He entered the total expenditure of juice and cashew-nuts of that day and wrote in it, “Dogs meal Rs. 105/- dated 29-05-89.”
