'Military report on Tehran and adjacent Provinces of North-West Persia (including the Caspian Littoral)' [‎133r] (270/610)

2. Khdliseh-i-intiqdll .—These are crown lands which before
the revolution were for some l * 3 reason sold or permanently made
over to the occupier, who in return pays a yearly tax to the State
at a higher rate than the ordinary land tax.
The ‘ maliat ’ of both kinds of crown lands is often paid
in kind, and a considerable portion of the food supply of Tehran
is derived from the ‘ maliat ’ of crown lands in Khar, Varamin,
and Shahriyar.
2. Customs.
Until 1898 all the Customs of Persia were farmed out to the stem b.
highest bidder who made as much as he could out of them
to the detriment of trade. Europeans refused to pay more
than the 5% ad valorem duty stipulated in the treaty of Turko-
manchai, but native traders were frequently mulcted.
In 1899 the Customs of Tabriz and Kirmanshah were placed
under control of officials lent by the Belgian Government.
The experiment proved such a financial success that in 1900
the farm system was finally abolished and all the Customs of
Persia were handed over to M. Nans and a staff of Belgians.
The Customs became the most lucrative and Reliable source
of revenue in the country, and formed the chief security for
loans borrowed by the Persian Government from Russia and
3 Great Britain.
In 1903 in place of the old 5% ad valorem of Turkomanchai,
a new tariff favourable to Russia was established [see Chapter
VII, paragraph (a)] which was abolished in April 1920 for the
tariff drawn up by the Anglo-Persian Customs Commission,
which reduced the excessive duty on tea, levelled up the duty
on articles of special interest to Russian trade which had been
undertaxed, imposed an exceptionally heavy duty on sugar
and increased the duties on most articles. The new duties
are designed to produce, in a normal year, a revenue more than
double the highest pre-war revenue.
In 1912-13 the total Customs statistics for the whole of
Persia were :—
Krans.
Total receipts 43,126,125
„ expenses 4,691,245
Excess of receipts 38,434,879
1 Often the pecuniary advantage of the provincial governor.
1 “ Reliable ” because unlike the land tax the excess receipts were paid direct
to the Persian Government and were not frittered away in the provinces
3 Other securities for British loans of 1910 and 1911 were Posts and Tele
graphs, Caspian Sea fisheries.