INDORE STATE MEMORANDUM.                                   165 

rupee in the mofussil, bhang at four seers a rupee throughout the State, and charas at five
tolas a rupee throughout.

The probable yearly consumption of these drugs in the State may be about 200 maunds
of ganja and an equal quantity of bhang, leaving charas quite out of account as being inappre-
ciable. These figures are the result of a very rough calculation, and not based upon reliable sta-
tistics. Having regard, however, to the probable number of consumers and the quantity con-
sumed by an average consumer, they appear to be approximately correct.

Duties.

Besides the amount realised from the ijara or monopoly of retail sale, which is Rs. 5,140
yearly on an average as stated before, there are two duties
levied on these drugs known as "katati" or inward, and
"bharati" or "nikasu" or outward. These terms include the import and the export duty pro-
per, that is, the duty levied on goods brought into the State from, or sent out of the State to,
foreign territory as well as the duty levied on goods transmitted from one mahal to another
within the State itself at each mahal.

The " katati" and " bharati" are levied at the same rate at the place itself. But the rate
varies in different districts, being maximum Rs. 3-12-0 per rás of 3 maunds or 120 seers and
minimum annas 12 for ganja; maximum annas 15 for one rás and minimum annas 8 for bhang;
and maximum Rs. 7-11-0 and minimum Rs. 5-8 per rás for charas.

The duties are levied at the Sayar nakas by which every merchandize must pass. Evasion
to pay the duty is punishable with confiscation of the goods smuggled and a fine up to Rs. 50
by the customs officer, or to an unlimited amount by the Darbar. The temptation to smug-
gle is greatly checked by the smallness of the duty and by the comparatively heavy liability
to punishment. An enormously excessive tax like that of Rs. 335 per maund levied in Ben-
gal (see page 324, volume V of Dr. Watt's Dictionary) would, in the very nature of things,
invite smuggling, whereas the small rates levied by Indore cannot be expected to operate in
that direction.

There is still a reason to believe that these drugs are smuggled into the State from Ujjain;
and from Sanowad they are possibly smuggled into the adjoining British territory or other
Native States. Excepting at these two points, smuggling is seldom heard of.

Administration.

The central administrative power rests with the Darbar. The executive head of customs
and excise for the Indore city and Indore zillah is the
Muntazim Sayar and for the other zillahs the Subha of
each zillah. The present excise system in respect to hemp drugs in the State, so far as it may
be so called, is based upon a few standing circular orders promulgated by the Darbar in the
State Gazette from time to time. Some of these have already been noticed in their proper
places in this memorandum. The system is on the whole working fairly relatively to the im-
portance of the interests involved and no modification of it is contemplated.

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