The Battle for the Sabich: Tax Authority counts eggs and torn pitas for stands
The owner of the Jerusalem sabich stand "Ha-Sabichiya shel Yigal" is challenging a Tax Authority demand for 132,000 NIS in additional VAT. The dispute focuses on waste rates and production losses.
An appeal filed against the Tax Authority's demand for an additional 132,000 NIS in VAT from the owners of the well-known Jerusalem sabich stand, "Ha-Sabichiya shel Yigal" on Shammai Street, reveals an unusual dispute between the parties: how many hard-boiled eggs are put into each portion, and how many pitas tear during the workday, such that they should be recognized as waste.
The appeal to the Jerusalem District Court was filed today (Sunday) by the company "Sabich Yerushalayim," which actually operates the stand managed by Yigal Petel. According to the appeal, the company was established 23 years ago with the goal of providing a livelihood for Petel and his wife, who were then in bankruptcy proceedings. It is further claimed that this is a stand that sells only sabich and soft drinks, and does not even have a freezer, so no inventory is kept for the next day.
In 2025, the Tax Authority conducted two observations of the stand, where payment is made in cash only and which operates for about 6 hours a day. During the observations, 134 customers were counted on one day and 127 customers on another. Based on these data, and in accordance with the price of the portion, the Tax Authority determined that there was a gap in the reports and demanded an additional tax payment of about 160,000 NIS for four years.
"Yigal was overcome with anxiety and uncontrollable crying while rejecting the data," the appeal states, describing the meeting between the Tax Authority representatives and the stand owner's representative.
The stand owner claims that the Tax Authority's calculations, which were based — according to the documents attached to the appeal — on an assumption of 1.05 eggs per pita and a waste rate of 20%, are not based on real data, and therefore the additional VAT demand should be completely canceled. According to him, the actual waste rate is significantly higher, among other things due to the number of pitas that tear during work.
"There are many conversations with the Angel bakery, the pita supplier, about the poor quality of the pitas," it is claimed in the appeal filed through attorney Shmuel Deblinger. "The stand cannot serve a customer a pita that does not hold the contents, and therefore many pitas were returned or thrown away."
It is further claimed in the appeal that "the stand owner is required to order 200 pitas every day from the Angel bakery, when about 70 pitas are not sold at all — meaning 35% of the daily purchase — and at least 20 additional pitas are disqualified during work." It was also noted that Petel has not changed the pita supplier over the years. No response was received from Angel regarding the claims.
According to the appeal, the Tax Authority agreed to increase the waste rate in the calculation from 20% to 25%, but even after the update, it insisted that according to its calculations, there is a gap in tax payments. Accordingly, it demands that the stand owner pay about 132,000 additional NIS to the state treasury. The stand owner rejects the calculation and has filed an appeal against the assessment.
