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`Arthasastra, forerunner to customs laws'

Mohan Padmanabhan

CALCUTTA, Sept. 25

THE nation's Customs laws and procedures have evolved over a 2000-year period, from the times of Kautilya's Arthasastra through the Mughal period, to the British rule to the modern age. And a good part of this fascinating story provides the backdrop for the early days of Indian customs laws, and the customs presidencies of Bengal, Bombay (now Mumbai) and Madras (now Chennai).

The story of Calcutta Customs is synonymous with the story of the chance-erected city of Job Charnock, from 1793 onwards, a period interspersed with the emergence of Calcutta as a trading centre and a river port in the 17th century.

Talking to Business Line here, Mr A.K. Raha, Commissioner of Customs, Calcutta, who along with Mr Swadesh Basu, Superintendent of Customs, Calcutta, has authored the recently-released ``Evolution of Calcutta Customs : A study in history'', said that the East India Company only inherited a well organised customs system whose origins could easily be traced back to Arthasastra. Land customs laws and procedures, which existed at that time were not substantially different from the system in practice during t he Mughal period, Mr Raha said.

He, however, points out that the word ``evolution'' has been preferred to ``history'' in the main title of the book for the simple reason that the present day Customs in India or in Calcutta has evolved slowly and steadily during the last 2000 years and did not originate abruptly during the rule of any Indian or foreign power.

Cutting a wide swathe into India's chequered tax history with Calcutta as the epicentre, from the Mauryan period to the present day, the authors have covered extensively the ancient tax laws, both inland and foreign, and the system of levying taxes durin g the reign of different monarchs. The emphasis on the various fiscal systems such as Corvee (mandatory labour to State) and the Tithe (agricultural tax), which existed in the ancient times, and the present day Central Excise, income-tax, land revenue an d VAT should provide enjoyable reading for serious students of economic history.

Described as a millennium gift to the metropolis of Calcutta, which celebrated its tercentenary in 1996, the chapter on customs administration under the Company rule, particularly Trevelyan's landmark report of 1835, provides a deep insight into the unju st inland tax system of that period, which worked against the interests of the Indian merchants and traders. Beginning with the economic background of customs levies in medieval India, with Calcutta as the centrepiece, the system under the British has be en dissected at considerable length.

Says Mr Raha: ``We have also dealt with the ancient direct and indirect tax systems of Athens and the Roman Empire, and the taxes in commodities and coins, which existed in Mauryan India as well as in China during the Chou dynasty. Although the emphasis is on Calcutta customs, we have in a limited way traced the origins of customs presidencies of both Bombay and Madras, and the tariff reforms brought about since 1836.''

Mr Raha, who took a Masters degree in history before entering the Customs service, points out that during the Company rule, the thrust was on maximisation of revenue, which often led to misdeeds, exploitation and abuse of power by the revenue collectors down the ages -- the roots of corruption in customs administration can thus be traced to this period, when rich merchants greased palms of their colonial masters indiscriminately to escape the oppressive environment.

In the Mughal period, however, under strong emperors, exploitation or misuse of power by the customs collectors rarely went unpunished. Kautilya even advised the king to investigate a revenue collector whenever collections far exceeded the target, as it was believed that behind every profit there may have been a crime.

In India, during the Mughal rule, excise revenue was imposed on liquor, opium and some other manufactured products, and the British inherited the Mughal legacy of excise revenue. According to the authors, excise duty on motor spirit was first imposed in 1929, and on matches and sugar in 1934.

The book also deals with the role of World Customs Organisation, with reference to important conventions such as Nairobi Convention and Kyoto Conventions. The authors have also touched upon some of the spectacular detections of smuggling together with so me landmark judgments of the courts in Calcutta.