19
some measures are urgently required for reducing the taxation of the different kinds of
ganja which are brought into the province to some kind of uniformity. The need of
remodelling the system has been fully recognised by the officers in charge of the excise;
and the proposals of the Excise Commissioner, which have the support of the Member of
the Board of Revenue in charge of excise, include the following measures:—
(1) Prohibition of cultivation except under license.
(2) Prohibition of manufacture of ganja.
(3) Establishment of bonded warehouses, with control of storage and issue of
ganja."
58. In these proposals the Commissioners agree and the Governor General
in Council is willing to accept them. The Commissioners add that it is
proposed to levy an import duty of at first from R 50 to R80 per maund
on pathar ganja from the Central Provinces and Native States, to be in-
creased by degrees. The Commissioners hold that it is better that the drugs
should be taxed at the source of supply, and that in this case no import
duty is necessary; and in this view the Governor General in Council concurs.
59.
In Madras the only system which exists in regard to the hemp drugs
System of administration in force in Madras,
consists in the restriction of the sale of
these drugs to licensed vendors, and no limit
of retail sale has been fixed. Cultivation is not controlled, and cultivators are
not required to take out licenses. The manufacture and storage of ganja is
under no supervision, and though the Madras Act contains full provisions regard-
ing the import and export of drugs, these provisions have not been carried into
operation in spite of the facts that export to Calcutta by sea has been proved to
exist, and that there are illegal exports from Madras to Burma.
6o. In Bombay the system of administration is somewhat more formu-
lated, and the law in force is thus stated
System of administration in force in Bombay.
by the Commission:—
625. "The system of administration is based upon the Bombay Act V of 1878, and
rules and notifications thereunder. The principal provisions are as follows
:—
Import of intoxicating drugs into any part of the Presidency is prohibited save under
permit and after payment of duty, if any. If the drugs have paid customs duty, this pro--
vision does not apply (section 9).
Export is prohibited save under the same conditions. This provision does not apply
to drugs imported by sea, the export of which is permitted on payment of any fee or
duty, if any, leviable by law on its transhipment or exportation (section 10).
Transport of any quantity of intoxicating drugs exceeding 40 tolas is prohibited save
under permit (section 12).
Manufacture is prohibited save under license (section 14).
Sale is prohibited save under license: provided that no such license is necessary for
the sale by a cultivator or owner of any plant from which an intoxicating drug is produced
of those portions of the plant from which the intoxicating drug is manufactured or pro-
- d u c e d t o a l i c e n s e d v e n d o r , m a n u f a c t u r e r , o r e x p o r t e r ( s e c t i o n 16
) .
The maximum quantity which may be sold by retail at one time or to one and the same
person in the aggregate on any one day within any defined local area or place is half an
Indian sér or 40 tolas (section 17 and notifications thereunder).
Whenever a license is granted for the manufacture or sale of any intoxicating drug,
and whenever the import, export, transport, or removal from place to place of any
intoxicating drug is permitted, such duty shall be levied as the Collector, acting under the
general or special order of Government, thinks fit (section 27).
Under this section notifications have been issued a
prescri bi ng t hat t he dut y l evi abl e
on account of a license for the joint privileges of manufacture and retail sale of intoxicating
drugs shall be fixed by the Collector, who, before granting any such license, shall put up
the said privileges to auction.
For a permit for the import or export of any intoxicating drug, or for its transport
between any two places not situated within the same district, duty subject to certain
exemptions is levied at the following rate:—
If the amount does not exceed to Indian maunds
.
.
.
.
. . .
For every additional 2 Indian maunds or fraction thereof .
. . . . .
•
Every license, permit or pass granted under the Act is granted—
(a) on payment of such fees, if any,
(b) for such period,
(c) subject to such restrictions and on such conditions, and
(d) shall be in such form and contain such particulars as Government directs
(section 30),"