In an astonishing case from Aligarh, Uttar Pradesh, a modest juice vendor named Raees Ahmed, 35, was blindsided by an income tax notice demanding an exorbitant Rs 7.8 crore—a sum that dwarfs his daily earnings of Rs 500-600 from his seasonal juice cart near the civil court. The bewildering notice, delivered by courier, has plunged Ahmed, a resident of Sarai Rehman, into a bureaucratic ordeal, with a deadline to respond by March 28.
Reeling from the shock, Ahmed sought answers at the local tax office, where officials revealed that his PAN number had been tied to massive business transactions he claims to know nothing about. “The sheer shock caused my blood pressure to spike—I couldn’t eat or drink,” Ahmed recounted, describing how the notice arrived on Saturday and left him reeling. With assistance from a nearby lawyer, he confirmed the staggering demand, prompting him to file a police complaint at Civil Lines station on Wednesday. Suspecting identity theft, authorities have registered a case against an unknown individual and launched an investigation.
Nain Singh, a tax officer in Aligarh, advised Ahmed to pursue the misuse of his PAN through legal channels. When questioned, Ahmed insisted he had never shared his documents with anyone, yet tax officials warned him he had just four days to submit a response online. Visibly anxious, Ahmed is now determined to see justice served. “I want the culprit punished and jailed,” he declared, resolute despite the stress that has upended his simple life.
