Kautilya's Arthashastra 2.6: Chapter 6 (Section 24): The Setting up of Revenue by the Administrator

THE Collector-General shall attend to (the collection of revenue from) forts (durga), country-parts (ráshtra), mines (khani), buildings and gardens (setu), forests (vana), herds of cattle (vraja), and roads of traffic (vanikpatha).

Tolls, fines, weights and measures, the town-clerk (nágaraka), the superintendent of coinage (lakshanádhyakshah), the superintendent of seals and pass-ports, liquor, slaughter of animals, threads, oils,. ghee, sugar (kshára), the state-goldsmith (sauvarnika), the warehouse of merchandise, the prostitute, gambling, building sites (vástuka), the corporation of artisans and handicrafts-men (kárusilpiganah), the superintendent of gods, and taxes collected at the gates and from the people (known as) Báhirikas come under the head of forts.

Produce from crown-lands (sita), portion of produce payable to the government (bhága), religious taxes (bali), taxes paid in money (kara), merchants, the superintendent of rivers, ferries, boats, and ships, towns, pasture grounds, road-cess (vartani), ropes (rajjú) and ropes to bind thieves (chórarajjú) come under the head of country parts.

Gold, silver, diamonds, gems, pearls, corals, conch-shells, metals (loha), salt, and other minerals extracted from plains and mountain slopes come under the head of mines.

Flower-gardens, fruit-gardens, vegetable-gardens, wet fields, and fields where crops are grown by sowing roots for seeds (múlavápáh, i.e., sugar-cane crops, etc.) come under sétu.

Game-forests, timber-forests, and elephant-forests are forests.

Cows, buffaloes, goats, sheep, asses, camels, horses, and mules come under the head of herds.

Land and water ways are the roads of traffic.

All these form the body of income (áyasaríram).

Capital (múla), share (bhága), premia (vyáji), parigha (?) fixed taxes (klripta), premia on coins (rúpika), and fixed fines (atyaya) are the several forms of revenue (áyamukha, i.e., the mouth from which income is to issue).

The chanting of auspicious hymns during the worship of gods and ancestors, and on the occasion of giving gifts, the harem, the kitchen, the establishment of messengers, the store-house, the armoury, the warehouse, the store-house of raw materials, manufactories (karmánta), free labourers (vishti), maintenance of infantry, cavalry, chariots, and elephants, herds of cows, the museum of beasts, deer, birds, and snakes, and storage of firewood and fodder constitute the body of expenditure (vyayasaríram).

The royal year, the month, the paksha, the day, the dawn (vyushta), the third and seventh pakshas of (the seasons such as) the rainy season, the winter season, and the summer short of their days, the rest complete, and a separate intercalary month are (the divisions of time).

He shall also pay attention to the work in hand (karaníya), the work accomplished (siddham), part of a work in hand (sésha), receipts, expenditure, and net balance.

The business of upkeeping the government (samsthánam), the routine work (prachárah), the collection of necessaries of life, the collection and audit of all kinds of revenue,—these constitute the work in hand.

That which has been credited to the treasury; that which has been taken by the king; that which has been spent in connection with the capital city not entered (into the register) or continued from year before last, the royal command dictated or orally intimated to be entered (into the register),—all these constitute the work accomplished.

Preparation of plans for profitable works, balance of fines due, demand for arrears of revenue kept in abeyance, and examination of accounts,—these constitute what is called part of a work in hand which may be of little or no value.

Receipts may be (1) current, (2) last balance, and (3) accidental (anyajátah= received from external source).

What is received day after day is termed current (vartamána).

Whatever has been brought forward from year before last, whatever is in the hands of others, and whatever has changed hands is termed last balance (puryushita).

Whatever has been lost and forgotten (by others), fines levied from government servants, marginal revenue (pársva), compensation levied for any damage (párihínikam), presentations to the king, the property of those who have fallen victims to epidemics (damaragatakasvam) leaving no sons, and treasure-troves,---all these constitute accidental receipts.

Investment of capital (vikshépa), the relics of a wrecked undertaking, and the savings from an estimated outlay are the means to check expenditure (vyayapratyayah).

The rise in price of merchandise due to the use of different weights and measures in selling is termed vyáji; the enhancement of price due to bidding among buyers is also another source of profit.

Expenditure is of two kinds—daily expenditure and profitable expenditure.

What is continued every day is daily.

Whatever is earned once in a paksha, a month, or a year is termed profit.

Whatever is spent on these two heads is termed as daily expenditure and profitable expenditure respectively.

That which remains after deducting all the expenditure already incurred and excluding all revenue to be realised is net balance (nívi) which may have been either just realised or brought forward.

Thus a wise collector-general shall conduct the work of revenue-collection, increasing the income and decreasing the expenditure.