134 THE BRITISH EMPIRE: — INDIA AND DEPENDENCIES
Tear ended March 31
1913-14 1915-16 1910-17 1917-18 1918-19 1919-20 1920-2 l«
Land! Optum ' Salt 2
£1,000 21,392 i 22,031 I 22,041 I 21,607 | 21,090 22.091 ' 23,798
£1,000 £1,000 1,625 3,445
1,914 3,160 3,079 3,289 2,991 2,942
3,648 4,826^ 5,499 4,278 3,754 4.4SS
Stamps I Excises! °
£1,000 5,318 5,434 5,777
5,728 6,019 7,223
7,508
£1,000 £1.000 £1,000
8,894 ' 7,558 ' 1,050
5,874 I
8,659 !
11,036
12,121 j
8,632 9,216 10,162 11,558 12,752 13,674
2,090 3,773 6,3086
7,758
14,920 15,7717| 17,010 11,3907|
£1,000 17,626 17,977 21,314 24.048 24,856 21,377 21,609
Irrigation
£1,000 4,713 4,779 5,156 5,064 5,347 5,S44 5,945
i Exclusive of Portion of Land Revenue due to irrigation.
2 The salt duty was raised from March 1, 1916.
3 The Excise revenue is derived from intoxicating liquors, hemp drugs, and opium con- sumed in the country. The bulk of the revenue comes from spirits. The excise systems and rates of duty vary from province to province. The receipts In the period shown have been adversely affected by war conditions.
- Liquors, petroleum, sugar, tobacco, cotton manufactures, metals, manufactured articles,
are the chief items from which the .customs revenue is derived. The duties un most articles except cotton goods were raised on March 1, 1916, and the duty on imported cotton goods in 1917. further increases in duties were proposed in March, 1921. The import of silver bullion and coin except under licence was prohibited in July, 1917, but the prohibition was withdrawn during 1920-21. Under this head are also included the proceeds of export duties on rice, on jute (imposed in 1916 and raised in 1917), on tea (imposed in 1916), and on hides (imposed in 1919); and of excise duties on cotton manufactures, and on motor spirit (imposed in 1917).
5 Includes the proceeds of a super-tax imposed in 1917.
8 Estimates.
7 Includes the proceeds of an excess profits duty imposed in April, 1919.
Land Revenue. — The most important source of public income is the land. The land revenue is levied according to an assessment on estates or holdings. In the greater part of Bengal, and Bihar and Orissa, about one-fourth of Madras, and some districts of the United Provinces of Agra and Oudh, the assessment was fixed permanently at the end of the 18th century ; while it is fixed periodically at intervals of from twelve to thirty years over the rest of India. In the permanently settled tracts the land revenue falls at a rate of 13as. lOp. per acre of cultivated land. In the temporarily settled tracts, excluding areas under partial assessment or free from assessment, the land revenue averages Rl 13as. 4p. per acre of cultivated land, and in the case of privately owned lands, represents something less than one-half of the actual or estimated rental. For details as to the nature of the different tenures of land that prevail in India see the Year-Book for 1886, p. 799. See also under Agriculture.
The land revenue was estimated to be contributed in 1919-20 as follows : —
Administrations Burma .... Bihar and Orissa Central Provinces and Berar Assam ....
Total
Rs.
3,79,47,000 1,62,03,000 2,19,03,000
-.74,000
83,13,61,000 O.SOOt)
Administrations Rs.
India, General . . . 19,19,000
N.W. Frontier Province . 20,70,000
Madras 6,0«, 6
Bombay 5,64,37,000
Bengal 2,95,60,000
United Provinces of Agra and
Oudti .... 6,60.56,000
Punjab 2,90,39,000
Opium. — IuBritish territory the cultivation of tin' poppy for the) production of opium is practically confined to the United Provinces, and t ho manufacture of opium from this region is a State monopoly. The bulk of the opium exported is supplied direct to the Governments of consuming countries in the Far East, while a certuin quantity is also sold by auction in Calcutta at monthly sales. Ophim is also grown in many of the Native States of Rajputmia and Central India, which have agreed to conform to the British system.
