Abolish The Customs Department

New Delhi: May 28, 2008: 1700hrs
The other day I delivered a talk to young people on the liberal theory of society during which I mentioned in passing that I would like to abolish the customs department.

Everyone laughed in disbelief.

The disbelief was founded on some false notions of the societal utility of this department.

Actually, it is nothing more than a great ugly octroi (chungi in Hindi) inflicted on us all.

I have only read of one other economist who would have happily abolished the customs department – and that is Frederic Bastiat.

Here he is, from “A Chinese Tale”.

"There is nothing that does not pretend to serve the well-being and the edification of the people—nothing, not even the customhouse. You think, perhaps, that it is just another instrument of taxation, like the license bureau or the tollhouse at the end of the bridge? Nothing of the kind. It is essentially an institution for the advancement of civilization, fraternity, and equality. What do you expect? To be in fashion today, one must show, or pretend to show, feeling, sentimental sensibility, everywhere, even at the customhouse window where they ask, “What do you have there, friend?”

But for realizing these humanitarian aspirations, the customhouse has, it must be confessed, some rather strange procedures. It musters an army of directors, assistant directors, inspectors, deputy inspectors, superintendents, auditors, collectors, department heads, assistant department heads, clerks, supernumeraries, candidates for the jobs of supernumeraries, and candidates for the candidacy, to say nothing of those on active service—all with the object of exercising over the productive activities of the people the negative action that can be summed up in the word “bar”.

Notice that I do not say tax, but quite genuinely bar.

And to bar, not acts repugnant to morality or dangerous to public order, but transactions that are innocent and, as is admitted, conducive to peace and harmony among nations."

Read the full text here. (You will have to scroll down to chapter 7.)

So let us abolish this huge big ugly barrier to trade.

There is much to gain – especially the end of protectionism.

Na rahega baans, na bajegi baansuri!