Coll 28/61 ‘Persia. Trade Reports. Bundar Abbas & Lingah, 1925/6–’ [‎13v] (26/245)

{h) Opening for British Goods .—As mentioned in
last year’s report, the British certainly cannot
occupy a prominent position in the face of Kussian
and Japanese competition. On the other hand
control of exchange and import restrictions render
business difficult now a days.
(*) Over-trading. —Nil.
0) Commercial morality .—Commercial morality in
the market has deteriorated considerably due to
depression of trade in general and control of foreign
exchange in particular.
(£) Working of law courts in commercial cases .—
As reported in last year’s report, the Law Courts on
the whole are satisfactory, although commercial
cases are dragged on until arbitration comes to their
rescue.
2. Finance.
{a) Tightness of money—to what extent due to res
trictions of credit, exchange, insecurity, extra taxation,
bad harvest, etc .—During the year under report
gradual scarcity of money was experienced in the
whole market, and since the beginning of the year
1934, it was much worse. There is no money in the
whole market, transactions are very few and it takes
a long time to recover money for goods sold to even
reliable parties. The silver coins have become so
scarce in the bazaar that at times it is impossible to
get change for even a fifty Rials note ; of course notes
of five rials to hundred rials are abundant. Owing
to the tightness of money and general depression in
business, credit facilities granted by merchants to
small retailers has been greatly restricted and a
merchant prefers now a days to sell his goods at a
considerably lower price for cash than what he would
get if he were to sell as usual for credit. The Bank
also requires substantial guarantee, sometimes, even
ourtimes the value of the credit required, and even
then is very reluctant in granting credit.
The selling quotations of the National Bank of
Iran on London and Bombay during the Iranian
year 1913 were as follows :—■
London—
Highest Rials .
Lowest .
Average . ,
Per £
82-50
66-00
78-00
Bombay—
Highest Rials .
Lowest .
Average .
Per
hundred
rupees Indian silver coin also widely used in the Persian Gulf. .
620-00
499-00
580-00
(6) Evidence of private capital unemployed or held
abroad. Hard hit by the world depression the foreign
trade touched a point far below the level, and conse
quently the Iranian merchants shut of! the importa
tion of many articles of prime necessity. Under
the circumstances the merchants who held funds
4
abroad are not inclined to utilise these until condi
tions improve.
(c) Diversion of capital from trade to other purposes
or vice versa.—Nil.
(d) Bankruptcies. —Nil.
(e) Competition among local Banks. —Nil. M
(f) Importation of silver .—In April 1934, some 900
bars of silver were landed at Bandar Abbas from
England in transit to India via Kerman and Zahidan,
most of the consignment being handled by the local
branch of the National Bank of Iran. In May last
the Ittefaqheyeh & Co. received a telegram from
Bombay that the Government of India had put a
stop to the importation of silver in transit from
England via Zahidan. This caused much embar
rassment and the dealers, including the National
Bank of Iran, were holding up their consignments of
about 1,500 bars. They were eventually obliged to
ship to Bombay by British India Steam Navigation
Company’s steamers.
3. Taxation.
(a) and (6) Effect on purchasing power, fair and
unfair incidence .—When the Minister of Finance
visited Bandar Abbas in February 193'5, he amal
gamated the Revenue Department with the Customs
Department and transferred the office there. This
amalgamation is a blessing to the poor as the extor
tion of money by this department now ends.
The old system of taxation, viz., in some cases
three per cent of the crop and in other the tax on
water supplied during every 12 hours, was abolished
by the Minister of Finance in the latter part of the
year, solely to help and save the cultivators from
being harassed by the tax collectors, and to en
courage agriculture in the country. Instead of this
it is reported that the Ministry intends introducing
from the beginning of next year a tax which will be
borne by the consumers only.
(c) Interference and obstructions on the part of tax
collectors .—No interference of importance was brought
to notice, but the farmers cannot be said to have
been totally spared by the tax collectors. The
abolition of tax collecting from the cultivators is a
blessing to them although at the expense of the con
sumers, who are sure to pay much more when the
new system is introduced.
4. Military.
(a) and (6) Commandeering of transport, extortion
and interference with trade and industry .—Only in
summer when the Military headquarters are moved
to Ganow hill, were both animal and wheeled trans
ports commandeered, but their interference with
trade or extortion was not observed.
( c ) Effect of conscription .—The people can be said
to be gradually getting accustomed to it and the
immigration on this account was not of importance