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'File 2/4 III TAXATION OF SHAIKH’S DATE GARDENS.' [148r] (302/461)
The record is made up of 1 volume (225 folios). It was created in 8 Dec 1932-26 Mar 1934. It was written in English and Arabic. The original is part of the British Library: India Office The department of the British Government to which the Government of India reported between 1858 and 1947. The successor to the Court of Directors. Records and Private Papers Documents collected in a private capacity. .
Transcription
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nnNffIDIffITXAL.
POLITICAL
AGENCY
An office of the East India Company and, later, of the British Raj, headed by an agent.
,
KUWAIT.
Dated the 9th November 19 35.
No. 27 0*
r ^
Prom
Lt.-Colonel H.R.P.Dickson, C.I.I., I.A.,
Political Agent
A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency.
, Kuwait;
To
The Hon^le the
Political Resident
A senior ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul General) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Residency.
in the
Persian Gulf
The historical term used to describe the body of water between the Arabian Peninsula and Iran.
, Eushlre,.
.qha-tvh'a Date Gardens In 'Iraq.
Sir,
I have the honour to report that in a recent
conversation which I had with Mr .Gabriel, the lega^
representative of His Sscellency the Shaikh of Kuwait in
•Iraq, the latter gave it as his ver 2 _JEOsltlve_oEini°a
that the "Istahlak" Law had been originally introduced
by the 'Iraq Government mainly in order to enable than
to’get at' the Shaikhs of Mohammerab and Kuwait in the
matter of their large properties on the Ghatt al Arab,
which were exempt from taxation.
2. Mr. Gab riel was equally posjjlXg. that as soon
thqy (the ’Iraq Government) could conveniently do so,
j v.i n «n outcry agsinst themselves,
without raising too bl S ^ o^ 01 ^ -
especially from His Majesty's Government, they would revert
again to the old Turkish system of Land Tax i.e. the
™ rs-r the crop system, vfriich used to be
, Khums 1 or 20 % oj. the crop y
tendme- crops by measurement, and on date
assessed on standing ■* i
, »T a rib T or acreage calculation,
gardens by the Jarit ^
by me ^ to his reasons
S# Mr.Gabriel ^en challengeo ■/ m
-hp. «?uch a change, replied
. „ t there would be such
for assuming taiat n ^
^ were definitely losing some
(a) that the ’Iraq Government were
(
rupees
Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf.
) under the Istahlak sys an,
15/20
lacs
One lakh is equal to one hundred thousand rupees
of revenue P®
rmp to lose this amount for
, , nnc;Qiblv continue vo xu©
and could not possi y
About this item
- Content
The volume contains correspondence related to the date gardens owned by the Shaikh of Kuwait, Aḥmad al-Jābir Āl Ṣabāḥ, and the Shaikh of Mohammerah, Khaz'al al-Ka'bi, in southern Iraq. A particular taxation system called Istihlak (consumption) tax has been imposed by the Iraqi Government on the produce of the gardens. British Officials discuss payment of export duty on garden produce from the Shaikh of Kuwait’s gardens in Iraq, and the allegations made by the Shaikh of Kuwait against the customs authorities at Faw.
The British Ambassador in Baghdad reports that because of the enforcement of the new tax law, the Iraqi Government is no longer able to make exempt from taxes the Shaikh‘s gardens' produce that has been exported from Iraq for the personal use of the Shaikh.
The volume includes a copy of minutes of a conference on the Shaikh’s date gardens held in Baghdad and minutes of an interdepartmental meeting held in London in regards to the gardens issue.
The Political Agent A mid-ranking political representative (equivalent to a Consul) from the diplomatic corps of the Government of India or one of its subordinate provincial governments, in charge of a Political Agency. , Kuwait, asks the Shaikh of Kuwait to provide full and detailed statements showing all payments and losses resulting from the imposition of Istihlak tax by the Iraqi Government. The Shaikh in turn provides six statements (ff 194-221):
- Statement I. Showing the amount levied as Istihlak tax from merchants purchasing and exporting dates in 1932.
- Statement II. Showing the amount levied as Istihlak tax from merchants purchasing and exporting dates in 1933.
- Statement III. Showing the amount levied from the Shaikh as Istihlak tax and under the heading 'Customs duties' on articles exported for the Shaikh’s private consumption.
- Statement IV. Showing the quantities of dates which the Shaikh was obliged to surrender from his own share to the fellaheen Arabic for ‘peasant’. It was used by British officials to refer to agricultural workers or to members of a social class employed primarily in agricultural labour. (peasants) working in his gardens under the Istihlak tax.
- Statement V. Showing the losses sustained by the Shaikh as a result of the disobedience of the fellaheen Arabic for ‘peasant’. It was used by British officials to refer to agricultural workers or to members of a social class employed primarily in agricultural labour. due to the introduction of the Istihlak tax.
- Statement VI. Showing the grand total of the above lists.
- Extent and format
- 1 volume (225 folios)
- Arrangement
The papers are arranged in approximate chronological order from the front to the rear of the volume.
- Physical characteristics
Foliation: the foliation sequence for this description commences at the inside front cover with 1, and terminates at the inside back cover with 227; these numbers are written in pencil, are circled, and are located in the top right corner of the recto The front of a sheet of paper or leaf, often abbreviated to 'r'. side of each folio. Two additional foliation sequences are present in parallel between ff 6-222; these numbers are also written in pencil, but are not circled.
- Written in
- English and Arabic in Latin and Arabic script View the complete information for this record
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Copyright: How to use this content
- Reference
- IOR/R/15/5/137
- Title
- 'File 2/4 III TAXATION OF SHAIKH’S DATE GARDENS.'
- Pages
- front, back, spine, edge, head, tail, front-i, 2r:5v, 7r:20v, 22r:28r, 29r:78v, 78ar:78av, 79r:111v, 114r:117v, 119r:132v, 134r:193v, 222r:227r, back-i
- Author
- East India Company, the Board of Control, the India Office, or other British Government Department
- Usage terms
- Open Government Licence