State and Government in Ancient India c20.165

c20.165

Customs and excise duties, so far dealt with, are often referred to in inscriptions by a comprehensive term *bhūtopātta-pratyāya*, 'a tax on what has come into existence (*bhūta*) *i. e.*, has been manufactured, and on what has been imported (*upātta*).¹ Some times the simple word *śulkika* is also used for the customs duties.²