Administrative System of the Marathas c18.s26: 7. Mohatarfa
Administrative System of the Marathas c18.s26
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7. Mohatarfa
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1. The Kolis should be taxed at the rate of Rs. 8, 5 and 2 per palanquin (per year) according to its size and nature.
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2. Shop-keepers should be taxed at the rate of Rs. 5, 6 and 7 per shop per year.
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3. The blacksmiths should be taxed at the rate of Rs. 4 per shop per year.
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4. The shoe-makers should be taxed at the rate of Rs. 4, 5 and 6 per shop per year.
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5. The rate of tax on oilmen should be Rs. 5, 6 and 7 per oil mill per annum.
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6. The rate of tax on goldsmiths should be Rs. 3 per shop per annum.
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7. The rate of tax on potters should be Rs. 3 per wheel per annum.
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8. The rate of tax on basket-makers should be Rs. 3 per house per annum.
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9. The Gondhlis (worshippers of Devi or goddess of small-pox) to pay for their profession Rs. 3 per year.
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10. The tax on boats passing the channel should be four annas for each small boat (fit to carry a load of five khandis) and eight annas for each big vessel.
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Nathuram Chaudhari was informed that he should collect Mohatarfa from beldars (stone-quarry-men) at the rate of 5 per cent. of their income. Similarly Moroji Shinde, officer in charge of Revdanda, was told to levy Mohatarfa from masons, stone-cutters, and stone-diggers, at the rate of one day's income per month, and Shridhar Jivaji was informed that the current rate of Mohatarfa to be paid by the carriers was Rs. 1-4 for every bullock carrying cloth and grocery. The Zakat included the Thalbharit (tax to be paid at the place of loading), the Thal-mod (tax to be paid at the place of sale) also Chhapa, a stamping-duty and Hashil which again in one document at least is described to be consisting of three items—Tafavat Dhakhala, Dasturi and Talab Dhakhala. In another document a tax called Shingshingoti (levied on cattle) is also included in the Zakat.
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8. Zakat :
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The Mohatarfa, as the above list will show, varied with the means of each individual shopkeeper, and can, therefore, be regarded as an income-tax. The Zakat was levied separately in every district, and this naturally led goods to be stopped frequently in their transit. This, however, was not peculiar to Maharashtra or to India. Tradesmen and merchants were similarly troubled in pre-revolutionary France, and, in Germany before the Zollverein. The Maratha merchants could evade the difficulty. "To remedy this inconvenience, there was a class called Hoondeekurrees in towns, who undertook for a single payment to pass articles through the whole country. These men arranged with the farmers of the customs, and were answerable to them for the sums due."[1] The Peshwa was not unaware of the inconvenience of frequent stoppage of merchandise in course of transit. In 1745-46, Peshwa Balaji Baji Rao ordered that goods passing between Sironj and Burhanpur should pay octroi (Zakat) at one place only.[2]
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¹ Elphinstone's Report on the Territories Conquered from the Peshwa, p. 30.
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² P. D., Vol III, p. 312.
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"A letter to Sankaraji Nikam: Zakat on elephants, and horses carrying goods of different descriptions from Sironj to Burhanpur should be collected at Sironj. Nothing should be charged at Burhanpur. If there is any custom of taking something as 'pansupari' gift, that alone should be taken. This practice has been observed from early times. When things of various descriptions are sent from Burhanpur, Zakat should be levied there and not at Sironj. This being the practice, we have been informed that you have demanded Hashil at Burhanpur although it was duly paid at Sironj. This letter is written on this information. You should collect only according to the customary practice, and should not introduce any innovation."
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9. *Zamindars and Darakhdars*:
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It may be noted here that Zakat was generally farmed to a person for a fixed sum, but these men were strictly warned not to oppress the people or to levy any unauthorised tax. As in the administration of land revenue the Peshwas followed the policy of encouraging the merchants and securing their prosperity and as the farming system was bound to be more or less inefficient from that point of view, we find that government officers were appointed during the administration of the second Madhava Rao for assessment and collection of Zakat. These officers often replaced the farmers altogether, but sometimes they simply supervised their work. The collection of Zakat, when under a government department, was conducted according to the Kamavis system and to it also the same checks of Zamindars and Darakhdars were applied. Two documents will be quoted here to illustrate the working of the principle. The first of these recounts the duties of the Zakat-Fadnis, of Bandar Pen, as follows:
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1. The settlement of the fixed sum to be levied from any trader on account of octroi, should not be made without the consent of the Fadnis.
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2. The accounts of octroi on exported goods should remain with the Fadnis.
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3. All correspondence regarding octroi should be conducted and all orders regarding credit and debit should be issued by the Fadnis.
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4. The octroi farms being abolished and the revenue being departmentally managed, writing work should be done by the Fadnis.
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5. The Fadnis should be prompt in his work and should issue notes or passes without delay.²³
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²³ P. D., Vol. VI, pp. 293-94. K. B. Marathe's summary.
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The second document illustrates how the Zakat officers were also checked by Zamindars and hereditary officers or Darakhdars. Krishnaji Viththal, Jamenis of octroi, in Prant Kalyan, had some difference with the Zamindars about official duties. The following instructions were therefore issued to Uddho Dadaji and Apaji Vishwanath, Joint Kamavisdars of Zakat in the Prant:
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1. "The Jamenis shall ascertain the amount of octroi to be levied, under orders of the Mamlatdar and in the presence of the Zamindars and shall prepare rough memorandum thereof on the spot, another memorandum being prepared by the Zamindar.
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2. The Jamenis shall write the draft agreement setting forth the conditions on which a sub-contract of the octroi farm is given. The Majumdar shall enter the totals and when the agreement is approved by the Mamlatdar, the Fadnis shall write the sanad.
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3. Passports to traders carrying bullock-loads from forts shall be written either by the Zamindars or by the Darakhdars, as may be customary at the particular post. In the former case the Fadnis shall date the passports, the Majumdar shall make his mark thereon, and the Mamlatdar shall seal them. In the latter case the passports shall be sent through the Zamindars.
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4. At the end of the year the Jamenis shall compare his rough memoranda of receipts with those kept by the Zamindars and submit a detailed account to the Mamlatdar.
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5. The Zamindars represent that the amount to be levied from the traders is fixed by them according to custom or according to Kauls granted to them, and that in their absence, the work is performed by the Mamlatdars. As the Zemindars keep separate accounts of the tax, the rates should be fixed with their cognizance. The memorandum fixing the amount leviable, either for particular Mahal, or for the whole tract, from the post to the province, above the ghaut should be written by the Jamenis and marked by the Mazumdar, and it should bear the approving endorsement of the Mamlatdar. It should then be given to the Fadnis for being registered and finally recorded by the Mamlatdar. The copy to be sent to the Thana should be made by the Jamenis. The Zamindar should take a copy for reference.
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6. Kauls to traders shall be written by the Jamenis; the Fadnis shall date them, and they shall bear the Zamindar's mark and the Mamlatdar's seal." ²⁴
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²⁴ P. D., Vol. VI, pp. 294-296. K. B. Marathe's translation.
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*10. Remission of Zakat and Mohatarfa :*
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In the above document mention has been made of kauls to traders. This will naturally remind us of the Kauls granted to cultivators for improvement of cultivation and other measures adopted for the same purpose. As land revenue was remitted from time to time in consideration of poverty of the Rayats, failure of rain, and above all, for the general and all-embracing reason of the improvement of agriculture, so these Zakat and Mohatarfa taxes were also, from time to time remitted. The Peshwa's government never meant to make their assessment and collection rigid; flexibility was preferred as it suited the circumstances well. In the year 1763-64, a greater supply of ghi, oil, joggery and turmeric being considered necessary the Kamavisdars in charge of Zakat, in Prants Poona and Junnar, were ordered to levy Zakat at half the usual rate.²⁵
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²⁵ P. D., Vol. VII, p. 69.
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"A Sanad to Mahadaji Narayan and Sadashiva Raghunath Kamavisdars, Zakat, Prants Poona and Junnar: levy Zakat at half the usual rate upon the traders from Desh who would bring ghi, oil, joggery and turmeric, etc., till the festival of Dasra and excuse the other half, as it is necessary to import a greater quantity of these articles." Similarly the levy of Tag (a tax on balance—it came under the Mohatarfa) newly imposed on traders at Poona was abolished in 1769-70 on their representation as it pressed heavily on them.²⁸ The Peshwa's attention was not confined to the sellers alone, the consumers as the party most affected by trade regulations also shared his consideration.
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²⁸ P. D., Vol. VI, p. 281.
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Thus in a letter addressed to the Kamavisdars of Zakat, Prants Poona and Junnar 1763-64, we find that (1) "rice and salt and groceries brought from the Konkan were to pass free of Zakat. (2) Bhusara grains (pulses) were always exempted from Zakat. (3) Cultivators carrying grain and salt from Poona were to be exempted from Zakat as their property had been recently lost owing to war. (4) No fee was to be levied on cultivators purchasing bullocks and buffaloes in Prant Poona as they had been deprived of their cattle during the disturbance this year; traders, however, should pay the usual duty."⁸⁷
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⁸⁷ P. D., Vol. VII, p. 68.