Slide Back in Monetary Policy


between the different types of inputs since all of them are not to be claimed for relief purposes, would certainly involve a much greater degree of checking of books and much greater requirements regarding maintenance of accounts than is implicit in the present system of excise duties. Third, once the concept of stock adjustments is introduced, innumerable problems 'will be created regarding the basis of valuation and composition of stocks to discover what proportion of it consists of tax- free goods and so on. Since Bhoothalin- gam would like to confine the exemptions only to current inputs, it is obvious that care must also be taken that items of capital nature are not set off against tax liabilities. In effect the proposal as it stands will lead to almost as much complexity in the assessment and collection of excise duties as in the case of present taxes on profit The one major advantage of excise duty, namely, collection of the duties more or less uniformly throughout the year without accumulation of undue arrears would also be lost.