DR. RUTHERFORD (Middlesex, Brentford)I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for India whether he can state the amount realised by the united provinces of Agra anal Oudh from octroi duty per annum and the cost of collection; what articles are subject to the said duty and the rates charged; and whether the Secretary of State will consider the desirability of remitting, especially in time of famine, the said duties on articles which constitute the principal food stuffs in daily use by the people.
§ MR. BUCHANANThe revenue derived from octroi duties by municipalities in the United Provinces amounts to about £225,000 a year, and represents about 70 per cent. of their total income from rates and taxes. The cost of octroi collection is not separately returned, but the total collection charges are about 10 per cent. of the total taxation receipts. The articles subject to these duties and the rates charged vary in different towns, but generally it may be said that most articles of domestic consumption are taxed, and that the rates are low. With regard to the last part of the Question, the law gives to the municipalities the necessary discretion, and the Secretary of State does not consider that he could interfere with advantage in a matter affecting the ways and means of a large number of municipal bodies.
§ MR. BUCHANANI cannot say without notice.
§ MR. REESAre the Government of India likely, by reducing the income collected from those in a position to pay, to be in a better position to feed those who cannot?
§ [No Answer was returned.]