MADRAS COLLECTORS REGULATION, 1803[1] A Regulation for describing and determining the
conduct to be observed by Collectors in certain cases. Whereas under the system of internal government
established for the administration of the public revenue, and for the security
of persons and property, individuals should have the means of ascertaining and
knowing the regulations passed for their benefit; and whereas the said system
further requires that the power and authority heretofore vested in the
immediate Collectors of the revenue should be curtailed; wherefore the
following Regulation has been passed for the purpose of defining the authority
committed to Collectors, and for describing the modes of procedure required in
the discharge of their duty. The collection of the public revenue derived from
land-tax[3], * * * *
from the excise on spirituous liquors or for other articles of taxation shall
be entrusted to Collectors, [4][ ] [***] [Oath to be taken by Collectors: consequences of
violation thereof.] Rep., Central Act XII of 1873. Collectors shall be under the immediate control of
the Board of Revenue, and shall obey all orders communicated to them by the
authority of that Board. Collectors shall furnish such papers or accounts
relating to the revenues under their charge as may be required by the Board of
Revenue, the President of the Board of Revenue, by the Accountant-General, or
by any other public officer authorized to make such requisition. All acts and proceedings of Collectors shall be
held and done publicly; that is to say, in open kacharis accessible to all
persons. Collectors shall administer the public revenues to
the advantage of the State, the happiness of the people, and the prosperity of
the country; and shall suggest such propositions to the Board of Revenue as, in
their judgment, may be calculated to augment and improve those revenues. Collectors have had, and are hereby declared to
have, authority to superintend and control, under the orders of the Board of
Revenue, all persons employed in the executive administration of the public
revenue, all zamindars or proprietors of land paying revenue, and all farmers,
securities, raiyats or other persons concerned in, or responsible for, any part
of the revenue to Government, as far as the said superintendence and control
may relate to the executive administration of the revenue under the regulations
now enacted, or to be hereafter enacted. [Seal of Collector.] Rep., Mad. Act VI of 1865. Collectors shall keep diaries of their proceedings
in the English language. The diaries shall contain a record of every official
transaction of the Collector, and shall be forwarded to the Board of Revenue
for each month, on the fifteenth day of the succeeding month. Collectors shall keep the public money in a strong
chest secured with two locks of different constructions: the key of one lock
shall be kept by the Collector, and the key of the other lock shall remain in
the possession of the public shroff. Collectors of revenue in districts where a
permanent assessment of the lands may have been fixed shall transmit to the
Board of Revenue, within one month after the expiration of each Fasli year, in
a form to be approved by the Board of Revenue, a jamabandi and kistbandi
statement of the permanent revenue assessed on each zamindari or estate into
which the districts have been divided or subdivided by the operation of the
Regulations, with an account subjoined of the amount of other items of revenue,
whether rented or under the Collector's management; noting in the one case the
amount of the rent, and in the other the expected amount of collections. Collectors shall be careful that proprietors of
land on whose estates the land-revenue has been permanently fixed, and farmers
of land, regularly discharge the taxes and rents agreeably to the kistbandi;
and, in the event of a proprietor or farmer of land falling in arrear, Collectors
shall proceed to recover such arrear in the mode prescribed by the Regulations
already passed, or to be hereafter passed for that purpose. Collectors shall furnish the person or persons
deputed by them to attach estates in pursuance of a decree of a Court of
Judicature, or for an arrear of revenue, with sanads of appointment, and with
written instructions under their seal and signature. Collectors shall apportion the assessment on lands
which may be ordered to be disposed of by public sale for the discharge of
arrears of revenue, or in pursuance of a decree of a Court of Judicature, or
which may be transferred in the manner allowed by the Regulations, from one
individual to another. Collectors shall be held responsible for justly and
equitably apportioning the permanent assessment on all subdivisions of estates,
and the amount of such assessment shall be regulated at a rate proportionate to
the value which such sub-divisions of estates bear to the gross assets of the
whole estates. Collectors, at the time they transmit statements of
the public assessment so apportioned on sub-divisions of estates for the
consideration of the Board of Revenue, shall furnish the proprietors of the
estates in question with the amount of the assessment so apportioned; and,
where the proprietors may object and appeal from the assessment proposed by the
Collectors for the sub-divisions of the said estate, Collectors shall
immediately forward the same, with their remarks, to the Board of Revenue. Collectors shall be careful to specify in the
conditions of sale (exclusively of the general conditions of sale as prescribed
by the Regulations) any particular obligation which may happen to fall on the
purchaser of a sub-division of, or of an entire estate declared for sale. Collectors, on receipt of a decree of a Court of
Judicature ordering land paying revenue to Government to be sold, shall proceed
to attach a sufficient portion of the said lands to answer the amount of the
decree, in such mode as may be prescribed for recovery of arrears of revenue by
the Regulations, and shall immediately report such attachment to the Board of
Revenue. In attaching portions of estates for arrears of
revenue, or in consequence of a decree of a Court of Judicature, Collectors
shall be careful to form the sub-divisions compact, selecting such villages and
lands as may be situated contiguously to each other. Collectors shall moreover
have in view the nature of the soil and available resources of the different
lands, and shall be careful to include, as nearly as may be practicable, equal
portions of land with contracted means of improvement, and of lands with extensive
means of improvement. In forming sub-divisions of estates, Collectors
shall be careful to preserve all the lands watered by one tank or watercourse
in the same sub-division; and, where it may be necessary to deviate from this
rule, Collectors shall fully explain such necessity to the Board of Revenue,
and wait the orders of the Board on their reference, previously to concluding
the arrangement. Collectors shall keep registers of all
sub-divisions of estates, and of all transfers of landed property, in a form to
be submitted to, and to be approved by, the Board of Revenue. Collectors shall keep, in a form to be approved by
the Board of Revenue, registers of all alienated lands paying revenue to
Government, or exempt from the payment of public revenue. The registers shall
be kept in the mode and manner prescribed by the Regulations already passed, or
to be passed, for that purpose. [Estates of disqualified landholders how managed.]
Rep., Mad. Act I of 1902. Collectors shall collect the revenue arising from
lands held khas in such manner as may be directed by the Board of Revenue. [***] [***] [Procedure for recovery of lands held under invalid
titles.] Rep., Central Act XII of 1876. [Lands for pensioners and invalids.] Rep., Central
Act XXIII of 1871. Collectors shall collect the assessments that may
be ordered to be levied for the payment of the department of police agreeably
to the Regulations enacted for that purpose, or agreeably to the orders of the
Board of Revenue, in cases where the said Board may have authority to issue
such orders. Collectors shall collect the revenue arising from
sayar, salt, spirituous liquors or from other sources, in the manner prescribed
by the Regulations, or in such manner as may be directed by the Board of
Revenue in cases subject to their authority. Collectors shall grant receipts for all payments
made into their treasury on account of the public revenue; which receipts shall
specify the date of payment, the coin in which payment may be made, and the
amount of such receipt shall be written in the English language and in the
language of the zila, and shall be registered and numbered in both languages by
the keepers of the records; the date of registry shall be indorsed on the back
of each receipt. Collectors shall transmit, on the fifteenth of each
month, to the Board of Revenue, copies of the register of receipts for the
preceding month. Collectors shall compel the tahsildars, or other
officers employed under them in the collection of the revenue, to grant
receipts for moneys received by them, and to transmit monthly registers of the
receipts so granted; the receipts granted by the tahsildars or other officers
employed in the collection of money, shall contain all the items above
specified. Collectors shall employ none but the public
registered servants in the conduct of public business, and Collectors shall not
employ public registered servants in the transaction of private business. [6][* * *] In districts where the land-tax may not have been
permanently fixed, Collectors shall investigate, with care and with attention,
the rules which have immemorially guided the assessment of the public revenue. Collectors shall state the result of their
investigation to the Board of Revenue, and shall regulate their demands on the
raiyats on principles of moderation, and with a just regard to the rights of
Government, to the rights of the people, and to the prosperity of the country. Collectors, la districts where the rent may not
have been permanently fixed, shall not increase or diminish the rates of waram,
or rates of quit-rent without permission being first had and obtained from the
Board of Revenue for that purpose. In districts where the land-tax may not have been
permanently fixed, Collectors shall report to the Board of Revenue all
unauthorized alienations of land, with every circumstance relating to such
land; but Collectors shall not resume alienated lands without authority from
the Board of Revenue. [Removal of proprietors.] Rep., Mad. Reg. II of
1806. Collectors shall not grant kauls of any description
without authority from the Board of Revenue; and all kauls granted by Collectors
shall contain the dates of the authority of that Board. Collectors shall not in any case authorize the
alienation of land without authority from the Board of Revenue. [***] [Requisition for military.] Rep., Mad. Reg. II of
1806. [***] [***] [***] [***] [***] [***] [***] [***] [Judicial powers of Collectors in districts where
no Zila Courts were established.] Rep., Mad. Reg. II of 1806. [***] [***] [Magisterial powers of Collectors in districts
where no Zila Courts were established.] Rep., Mad. Reg. II of 1806. Collectors shall not make disbursements of public
money for advances for cultivation, or repairs of tanks, or for any other
purposes, without having previously obtained, through the channel of the Board
of Revenue, the authority of the [7][State
Government] for such disbursement. [8] * * * * * * Collectors, or Assistants to
Collectors, shall not permit their [9][ ]
servants to be concerned, directly or indirectly, in any rent or farm of the
public revenue, or to be security for any farmer or renter of lands on which
the rent may not have been permanently fixed. [* * * * ][10] [Farming of lands to, and taking security from,
Europeans prohibited.] Rep., Mad. Act II of 1869. Collectors, and Assistants to Collectors, shall not
occupy ground nor erect buildings thereon, without the sanction of the Board of
Revenue. [* * * * ][11] Collectors shall not publish proclamations or
orders which may in any shape affect the intercourse of [12][the
Government of India] with foreign States, without an express order from
the [13][Central
Government] for that purpose. Collectors, and Assistants to Collectors, shall (in
cases requiring it) apply to the Board of Revenue for temporary leave of
absence from their station. Collectors, or Assistants to Collectors, shall not
absent themselves from their stations without having previously obtained the
permission of the Board of Revenue. In the event of severe illness compelling
Collectors to quit their stations without such authority, on the affidavit of
medical persons with respect to the necessity of such absence, they shall
deliver charge of their districts to the head Assistant on the spot, and shall
report the circumstance without delay to the Board of Revenue. In the absence of Collectors, the senior Assistant
on the spot shall take charge of the public business. On the resignation or removal of Collectors, they
shall deliver to their successors or Assistants every public account and
document, with all original letters received, and attested copies of all
letters sent, relative to their charges respectively. Collectors shall certify
officially duplicate lists of such accounts and documents, and shall deliver
one list to their successors or Assistants, and shall forward the other list to
the Board of Revenue. Collectors on receiving charge shall count the
balance of cash delivered to them, and shall grant receipts for the amount in
duplicate; one receipt shall be retained by the person delivering over charge,
and the other shall be transmitted to the Board of Revenue. [1] Short title,
"The Madras Collectors. Regulation, 1803"see the Repealing and
Amending Act, 1901 (Central Act XI of 1901). This Regulation was declared by the Laws Local
Extent Act, 1874 (Central Act XV of 1874), s. 4 and the Second Schedule to be
in force in the whole of the Presidency of Madras except the territories
mentioned in the Sixth Schedule to that Act. As to arrears of revenue recoverable under Mad. Act
II of 1864, this Regulation is inoperativesee s. 62 of that Act. See section 18 of the Malabar Land Registration
Act, 1896 (Madras Act III of 1896). This Regulation was extended to the merged State of
Pudukkottai by section 3 of, and the First Schedule to, the Madras Merged
States (Laws) Act, 1949 (Madras Act XXXV of 1949). This Regulation was extended to the Kanyakumari
district and the Shen-cottah taluk of the Tirunelveli district by section 3 of,
and the Schedule to, the Madras (Transferred Territory) Extension of Laws Act,
1957 (Madras Act XXII of 1957). [2] Short title,
"The Madras Collectors. Regulation, 1803"see the Repealing and
Amending Act, 1901 (Central Act XI of 1901). This Regulation was declared by the Laws Local
Extent Act, 1874 (Central Act XV of 1874), s. 4 and the Second Schedule to be
in force in the whole of the Presidency of Madras except the territories
mentioned in the Sixth Schedule to that Act. As to arrears of revenue recoverable under Mad. Act
II of 1864, this Regulation is inoperativesee s. 62 of that Act. See section 18 of the Malabar Land Registration
Act, 1896 (Madras Act III of 1896). This Regulation was extended to the merged State of
Pudukkottai by section 3 of, and the First Schedule to, the Madras Merged
States (Laws) Act, 1949 (Madras Act XXXV of 1949). This Regulation was extended to the Kanyakumari
district and the Shen-cottah taluk of the Tirunelveli district by section 3 of,
and the Schedule to, the Madras (Transferred Territory) Extension of Laws Act,
1957 (Madras Act XXII of 1957). [3] The words
"from duties on commodities by sea and land, from salt" were omitted
by the Adaptation Order of 1937. [4] The words
"who shall be covenanted civil servants of the Government" were
omitted by section 4 of, and the Second Schedule to, the Madras Repealing and
Amending Act, 1957 (Madras Act XXV of 1957). [5] The first portion
of this section, containing obsolete matter, was repealed by Mad. Act II of
1869. [6] This section was
omitted by the Adaptation Order of 1937. [7] The words
"Provincial Government" were substituted for the words "Governor
in Council" by the Adaptation Order of 1937 and the word "State"
was substituted for "Provincial" by the Adaptation Order of 1950. [8] The sentence
"Collectors, and Assistants to Collectors, shall not be concerned,
directly or indirectly, in any farm of the public revenue, either as renters,
securities or otherwise" was omitted by the Adaptation Order of 1937. [9] The word
"Native" was omitted by the Adaptation Order of 1950. [10] This section was
omitted by the Adaptation Order of 1937. [11] This section was
omitted by the Adaptation Order of 1937. [12] These words were
substituted for "the British nation" by the Adaptation Order of 1950. [13] These words were
substituted for the words "Governor in Council" by the Adaptation
Order of 1937.MADRAS COLLECTORS REGULATION, 1803
PREAMBLE
Regulation – 48.
Regulation – 49.
Regulation – 50.
Regulation – 51.
Regulation – 52
Regulation – 53.
Regulation – 54.
Regulation –57.