Trade and Trade Routes in Ancient India c8.49

c8.49

In the Mauryan period on account of properous trade and commerce, the state realised a good amount of customs duties and the Collector of Customs and Tolls realised them with strictness. There were customs houses with their own flags situated in the northern and eastern gateways of a city. As soon as merchants reached there, four or five officers inquired about their names, addresses, the weights and kinds of their merchandise and the places where their passports were stamped first and other relevant matters. If the goods were not properly sealed and if the seals were forged then the duty was eight times as a penalty. If the seals were found broken or effaced merchants were imprisoned for twenty-four hours, if the state seal or personnel seals were changed then the merchants were fined one and a quarter per load.