DOI Seite / Zitierlink:
https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.68025#0077
ROYAL COMMISSION UPON DECENTRALIZATION.
71
16089. Taking an average district, how many would
there be ?—I think four may be taken as the average
number.
16090. You have at the headquarters sub-division
four Deputy Collectors and one Joint-Magistrate?—
Very seldom a Joint-Magistrate.
16091. Do your district establishment want
strengthening?—I think the staff is not so very
excessive, but making allowance for one officer to be
set aside for the special excise and income-tax work,
the remaining three are hardly sufficient for the whole
work of administration. The staff has been recently
increased to some extent. ®
16092. Would it not be better to have regular Sub-
Divisional Officers to do the revenue and magisterial
work under the Collector’s supervision ?—Yes, in some
places a Sub-Divisional Officer could do the work, but
his functions are mainly ^judicial; he has very little
revenue work.
16093. Why should he not have both ; why should
he not be a regular Sub-Divisional Officer ?—The
revenue work in Bengal is centralized and has not
been sub-divided according to sub-divisions as the
criminal work has been.
16094. Similarly your Sub-Deputy Collectors are
concentrated at district and sub-divisional head-
quarters ?—Yes.
16095. Does much municipal work go up to the
Commissioner for sanction ?—Yes.
16096. Might some of the powers be delegated to
the Collector or to the municipality itself ?—Yes ; an
attempt might be made to delegate some of the
powers, but very few.
16097. Speaking generally, is it your impression
that a good deal of work comes to the Commissioner
that need not come up, and that could be sanctioned
as a matter of course ?—Yes. With regard to
Collectors I am sure that there might be a substantial
amount of delegation, but with re ard to muni-
cipalities I am not quite so sure.
16098. (Sir Steyning Edgerley.) Do you think an
officer works harder when he is on probation than he
does afterwards when he has been confirmed ?—After
his confirmation more important work is given him. I
think after confirmation he has to work harder.
16099. Do you think he lets things go a little, while
on probation, and after he is confirmed he works
harder ?—No, I do not think that, but less important
duties are then given him, so that harder work is not
necessary.
16100. Do you think he tries more when on proba-
tion than he does after he is confirmed?—He tries
both while he is on probation, and afterwards,
according to the individual nature of the officer.
16101. What advantage do you expect to get by the
appointment of an Executive Council ?—The more
important work that now goes to His Honour will be
reviewed by three officers.
16102. You would get a broader decision ?—Yes.
16103. Do you suggest that the Commissioner should
have enlarged powers in order to make him in the eyes
of the people and officers under him the de facto repre-
sentative of the Government in his division ?•—Yes.
16104. If you have a broader Government and a
more powerful Commissioner, what room is left for
the Board of Revenue ?—The Board of Revenue will
remain nominally in order to fulfil the requirements of
certain laws and regulations which require the existence
of that body.
16105. Does your work as Deputy Collector of
Income Tax in Calcutta bring you into very close
connection with the commercial and native communi- Babu
ties ?—Yes. Srlgopal
16106. What, generally, is the reputation in com- Bhattachar-
mercial circles of the Port Commissioners ; are they
looked upon as an efficient body?—Yes, I have heard on n ran?
the Port Commissioners well spoken of. ' _’’
16107. Do you make the original income-tax assess-
ments?—I do a part of the original assessment, so
does the Collector. The assessors’ list of proposals are .
submitted to me, and after my scrutiny they are sub-
mitted to the Collector ; sometimes the Collector and
myself jointly scrutinise them.
16108. If you prepare the list what is the necessity
of submitting it to the Collector ; has he any data on
which he can form a second judgment which you do
not possess ?—Some of the cases are very important
and the Collector’s views are necessary in those cases.
16109. Are those cases specially marked in any way ?
—No.
16110. Do you submit the list as a whole to him?—
Yes.
16111. As a matter of fact, the Collector does not
examine the whole list or anything like it ?—He does.
16112. Does he make an independent examination ?
—Yes.
16113. What are the arrangements for appeals ?—I
take objections with regard to assessments on incomes
below Rs. 10,000 ; appeals from my decisions do not
lie to the Collector, but to the Commissioner ; objec-
tions with regard to incomes above that amount are
dealt with by the Collector and an appeal lies to the
Commissioner.
16114. Are a good many of your assessments
affirmed after examination of the books of the persons
concerned ?—Books are seldom produced at the
initial stage of the assessment, but at the stage of
hearing objections they are very often produced,
16115. Do you examine those books?—Yes.
16116. Then when the appeal goes up to the Com-
missioner, does he examine them again?—Yes, he
calls for the books now and then, but very often he
requires us to examine the books again, and submit
the result to him.
16117. Is there a still further appeal from the Com-
missioner ?—To the Board of Revenue.
16118. What course do the Board of Revenue
generally take ?—The Board of Revenue take the
Commissioner’s report, and pass orders.
16119. Do they generally call for another report
from you ?—Yes, through the Commissioner.
16120. Do they make any independent inquiry into
the books or into the evidence ?■—Yes, sometimes.
16121. Does the matter end with the Board of
Revenue ?—Yes.
. 16122. Would not justice practically be done to most
people if the appeal ended with the Commissioner ?—
Yes.
16123. As I understand, there is no special advantage
in appealing to the Board of Revenue, for they do not,
as a rule, make an independent investigation ?—But
sometimes questions of mixed law and fact arise which
require the decision of the Board, and with regard to
those cases it is better to leave the jurisdiction of the
Board.
16124. Then you think two appeals are necessary ?
—One appeal will be sufficient for the great majority
of cases where merely questions of fact are involved,
but where any intricate principle of assessment is in-
volved I think it is safer to leave an appeal to the
Board.
(The witness withdrew.)
Mr. C. H. Bompas was called and examined.
16125. (Chairman.) You are the Magistrate and
Collector of the 24-Parganas ?—Yes, I have been so for
the last two months. Before that a good deal of my
time was spent in the Santhal Parganas.
Speaking broadly, tjie person who supplies the money
must control the expenditure of it. Unless a local
officer derives his money from local sources, he cannot
really control expenditure. If the Local Government
has surplus funds it may distribute them among
divisions or districts not in accordance with ascertained
wants, but on the basis of population or wealth or
some similar rough principle : it thereby parts with
control of expenditure : but this is not possible where
great economy has to be practised and is only legitimate
when the money is to be expended on objects, such as
communications, on which practically unbounded ex-
penditure is justifiable. When funds are limited they
must be allotted where they are most needed : and
Mr. C. II.
Bompas.
30 Dec., 1907.
71
16089. Taking an average district, how many would
there be ?—I think four may be taken as the average
number.
16090. You have at the headquarters sub-division
four Deputy Collectors and one Joint-Magistrate?—
Very seldom a Joint-Magistrate.
16091. Do your district establishment want
strengthening?—I think the staff is not so very
excessive, but making allowance for one officer to be
set aside for the special excise and income-tax work,
the remaining three are hardly sufficient for the whole
work of administration. The staff has been recently
increased to some extent. ®
16092. Would it not be better to have regular Sub-
Divisional Officers to do the revenue and magisterial
work under the Collector’s supervision ?—Yes, in some
places a Sub-Divisional Officer could do the work, but
his functions are mainly ^judicial; he has very little
revenue work.
16093. Why should he not have both ; why should
he not be a regular Sub-Divisional Officer ?—The
revenue work in Bengal is centralized and has not
been sub-divided according to sub-divisions as the
criminal work has been.
16094. Similarly your Sub-Deputy Collectors are
concentrated at district and sub-divisional head-
quarters ?—Yes.
16095. Does much municipal work go up to the
Commissioner for sanction ?—Yes.
16096. Might some of the powers be delegated to
the Collector or to the municipality itself ?—Yes ; an
attempt might be made to delegate some of the
powers, but very few.
16097. Speaking generally, is it your impression
that a good deal of work comes to the Commissioner
that need not come up, and that could be sanctioned
as a matter of course ?—Yes. With regard to
Collectors I am sure that there might be a substantial
amount of delegation, but with re ard to muni-
cipalities I am not quite so sure.
16098. (Sir Steyning Edgerley.) Do you think an
officer works harder when he is on probation than he
does afterwards when he has been confirmed ?—After
his confirmation more important work is given him. I
think after confirmation he has to work harder.
16099. Do you think he lets things go a little, while
on probation, and after he is confirmed he works
harder ?—No, I do not think that, but less important
duties are then given him, so that harder work is not
necessary.
16100. Do you think he tries more when on proba-
tion than he does after he is confirmed?—He tries
both while he is on probation, and afterwards,
according to the individual nature of the officer.
16101. What advantage do you expect to get by the
appointment of an Executive Council ?—The more
important work that now goes to His Honour will be
reviewed by three officers.
16102. You would get a broader decision ?—Yes.
16103. Do you suggest that the Commissioner should
have enlarged powers in order to make him in the eyes
of the people and officers under him the de facto repre-
sentative of the Government in his division ?•—Yes.
16104. If you have a broader Government and a
more powerful Commissioner, what room is left for
the Board of Revenue ?—The Board of Revenue will
remain nominally in order to fulfil the requirements of
certain laws and regulations which require the existence
of that body.
16105. Does your work as Deputy Collector of
Income Tax in Calcutta bring you into very close
connection with the commercial and native communi- Babu
ties ?—Yes. Srlgopal
16106. What, generally, is the reputation in com- Bhattachar-
mercial circles of the Port Commissioners ; are they
looked upon as an efficient body?—Yes, I have heard on n ran?
the Port Commissioners well spoken of. ' _’’
16107. Do you make the original income-tax assess-
ments?—I do a part of the original assessment, so
does the Collector. The assessors’ list of proposals are .
submitted to me, and after my scrutiny they are sub-
mitted to the Collector ; sometimes the Collector and
myself jointly scrutinise them.
16108. If you prepare the list what is the necessity
of submitting it to the Collector ; has he any data on
which he can form a second judgment which you do
not possess ?—Some of the cases are very important
and the Collector’s views are necessary in those cases.
16109. Are those cases specially marked in any way ?
—No.
16110. Do you submit the list as a whole to him?—
Yes.
16111. As a matter of fact, the Collector does not
examine the whole list or anything like it ?—He does.
16112. Does he make an independent examination ?
—Yes.
16113. What are the arrangements for appeals ?—I
take objections with regard to assessments on incomes
below Rs. 10,000 ; appeals from my decisions do not
lie to the Collector, but to the Commissioner ; objec-
tions with regard to incomes above that amount are
dealt with by the Collector and an appeal lies to the
Commissioner.
16114. Are a good many of your assessments
affirmed after examination of the books of the persons
concerned ?—Books are seldom produced at the
initial stage of the assessment, but at the stage of
hearing objections they are very often produced,
16115. Do you examine those books?—Yes.
16116. Then when the appeal goes up to the Com-
missioner, does he examine them again?—Yes, he
calls for the books now and then, but very often he
requires us to examine the books again, and submit
the result to him.
16117. Is there a still further appeal from the Com-
missioner ?—To the Board of Revenue.
16118. What course do the Board of Revenue
generally take ?—The Board of Revenue take the
Commissioner’s report, and pass orders.
16119. Do they generally call for another report
from you ?—Yes, through the Commissioner.
16120. Do they make any independent inquiry into
the books or into the evidence ?■—Yes, sometimes.
16121. Does the matter end with the Board of
Revenue ?—Yes.
. 16122. Would not justice practically be done to most
people if the appeal ended with the Commissioner ?—
Yes.
16123. As I understand, there is no special advantage
in appealing to the Board of Revenue, for they do not,
as a rule, make an independent investigation ?—But
sometimes questions of mixed law and fact arise which
require the decision of the Board, and with regard to
those cases it is better to leave the jurisdiction of the
Board.
16124. Then you think two appeals are necessary ?
—One appeal will be sufficient for the great majority
of cases where merely questions of fact are involved,
but where any intricate principle of assessment is in-
volved I think it is safer to leave an appeal to the
Board.
(The witness withdrew.)
Mr. C. H. Bompas was called and examined.
16125. (Chairman.) You are the Magistrate and
Collector of the 24-Parganas ?—Yes, I have been so for
the last two months. Before that a good deal of my
time was spent in the Santhal Parganas.
Speaking broadly, tjie person who supplies the money
must control the expenditure of it. Unless a local
officer derives his money from local sources, he cannot
really control expenditure. If the Local Government
has surplus funds it may distribute them among
divisions or districts not in accordance with ascertained
wants, but on the basis of population or wealth or
some similar rough principle : it thereby parts with
control of expenditure : but this is not possible where
great economy has to be practised and is only legitimate
when the money is to be expended on objects, such as
communications, on which practically unbounded ex-
penditure is justifiable. When funds are limited they
must be allotted where they are most needed : and
Mr. C. II.
Bompas.
30 Dec., 1907.