Salt, Gandhi & British Raj: Special Reference to 1930

Salt is a commodity that had been taxed in India since the time of the Mauryas period. Taxes on salt have been common even during the time of Chandragupta Maurya. The Arthashastra, which give an account of the different duties of the people, says that a special officer called lavananadhyaksa was appointed to collect the salt tax.1 Taxes were also forced on imported salt. However, they accounted for 25 percent of the total cost of the salt.