Khari Baoli, Delhi
Accounting for Khari Baoli's spice and dry fruit traders
Spices and dry fruit are bought and sold by weight, in bags that lose moisture, through brokers, often to buyers in other states. Those four facts decide what your books need to show, more than the address on your bill.
Why stock by weight rarely matches
A trader buying 100 bags may not sell the weight that came in. Without a record of why, the gap looks like missing sales, or missing stock. This is our general analysis, so adjust it to your goods.
| Cause of the gap | Simple record to keep | What to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Moisture and drying | Weight in and weight out, by lot | What level of loss is normal for each item, and how to support it |
| Cleaning and grading | Weight before and after, plus any waste sold | How to treat the graded lots and the waste |
| Spoilage and pests | Date, item, quantity, and a note or photo | How to write it off, and what happens to credit taken on it |
| Samples and loose sales | A daily note of small quantities | How to bring them into sales and stock |
Stock is usually valued too, not only counted. Ask Deepak Mittal how lots bought at different prices will be valued.
Brokers and commission
Where a broker arranges a sale, keep the sale and the commission apart. Your books should show who bought, who earned the commission, and at what rate.
Section 393(1) of the Income-tax Act, 2025 lists tax deduction on commission or brokerage, at 2% above ₹20,000. Whether it applies to you depends on your own position, so ask. If you are the agent, selling for someone else, your own books should show commission as income, not the whole sale.
Loose or packed
The GST treatment of food items can change with the item, and with how it is packed and labelled. The same spice may be handled differently in a sack and in a retail pack. Do not assume one rate covers your whole list. Ask for a rate check on each item, using its HSN code.
Food businesses also have licensing duties, which are outside this page. Keep those costs and renewal dates on file.
Goods leaving Delhi
Rule 138 of the CGST Rules asks a registered person moving a consignment worth more than ₹50,000 to furnish e-way bill details before it moves. Buyers in other states also change the type of tax on your bill, so the place of supply on each invoice must be right.
Keep the transport receipt with the bill. If a buyer disputes a delivery months later, that receipt is often what settles it.
Monthly checks worth having
- Stock by lot, in weight and value
- Loss percentage by item, compared with last year
- Buyers by age of balance, and brokers owed
- Margin by item, not only for the whole business
About the market, and about us
Outlook Traveller describes Khari Baoli as a former stepwell that grew into a large wholesale market for spices, herbs and condiments. The Delhi government's 2022-23 budget named it among markets to be redeveloped. We have not confirmed the current state of that plan.
AccountOrbit takes enquiries by phone from anywhere in Delhi, including this area, but has no office here. If your lot books, broker slips and transport receipts are on paper, agree at the start how copies will be sent each month. See the monthly documents checklist.
Sources checked, November 2026
- Income-tax Act, 2025, Gazette copy (opens in a new tab), section 393 (read at source; later amendments may apply)
- CGST Rules as amended to 1 June 2021 (opens in a new tab), rule 138 (read at source; check for later changes)
- Outlook Traveller, February 2024 (opens in a new tab), report on the redevelopment plan (opens in a new tab) (secondary)
Trading in Khari Baoli?
Tell us what you trade, whether you sell out of state, whether you use brokers, and your software.
