'Military report on Tehran and adjacent Provinces of North-West Persia (including the Caspian Littoral)' [‎132r] (268/610)

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6. Financial Tribunal. —Investigation of appeals against
Revenue Assessment Department (2), of complaints by indivi
duals against financial officials.
7. Audit Committee —Comparison and check of all claims
for payment with the authorized budgets before they may be
defrayed by Minister, unrestricted right to scrutinize accounts
of all persons entrusted with public money.
8. Supreme Council — Composition. —It is summoned at
invitation of Minister and consists of 4 of the heads of Depart
ments 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, under the Minister’s presidency The name given to each of the three divisions of the territory of the East India Company, and later the British Raj, on the Indian subcontinent. .
Function. Judicial trial of members of financial tribunal
(7) and heads of finance departments in Tehran and provinces.
Tn * * PraCtlCe ’ ll0wever ’ tlle checks on expenditure vested in Financial
the Accountants Department and Audit Committee have Administration
become a dead letter and the Minister is all powerful and irres- Practice ’
ponsible. In the opinion of* Englishmen, who had had access
to financial offices during 1920, their arrangements are chaotic
and an orgy of peculation prevails.
The provincial chiefs of Finance ’ were required by Mr. Revenues.
Shuster to transfer to Tehran all revenue immediately on
collection and payments for provincial expenses were disbursed
subsequently from the Treasury. This system was changed
by M. Mornard and provincial budgets were formed to be paid
out of the provincial finances without further sanction, and
only the excess receipts were forwarded to Tehran.
The falling off in receipts and the increase of expenditure
have been mentioned above.
The most ^Important sources of revenue are :
1. 2 Land tax and 3 erown lands.
2. Customs.
3. Opium and tobacco excise duties.
4. Posts and Telegraphs, leases for concessions, etc.
1. Land Tax and Crown Lands.
No statistics ever have been or could be p blished to show
the amounts derived from the 2 land tax, which has always been
the principal source of revenue in Persia, and from the 3 crown
lands.
Several minor taxes exist, including an
cart or animal entering a town gate.
1 Maliat-i-arazi.
* Rhaliseh.
octroi charge (navaqil) on every