State and Government in Ancient India c20.133

c20.133

Let us now proceed with our survey of taxation. Trade and industry had to bear their own burden like agriculture. Traders had first to pay octroi duties that were levied on most of the articles imported in the town or village at varying rates. The state justified these duties on the ground that it had to spend considerably for the up-keep and protection of roads on which the merchandise was carried.¹ The duties were usually collected at the gate of the town or village by customs house officers usually as *śaulkika*.² They had to be paid sometimes in cash and somtetimes in kind according to the local usage. The rules in the Smṛitis suggest that the payment was usually in kind;³ sometimes we come across inscriptions stating the actual quantity of ghee, oil, cotton, betel leaves etc., that was collected as customs dues in different places.⁴ Cash collections also were not unknown, and they must have been usual in the case of the imports of gold, silver and jewels. Assignments in cash against the income of the toll houses, which we sometimes come across in inscriptions,⁵ show that probably people had the option to pay the customs dues in cash as well, if they so liked.