Page 144 - UAE Truncal States_Neat
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Administering ci Tribal Society

        dates from Basra. But whether there were proper shipping docu­
         ments or not, the range of imported goods was, even after the Second
         World War, so limited, and the selling price of each item was so well
         known to everyone that the customs official had little difficulty in
         establishing the correct amount of duties to be paid in almost every
         case. During the later 1950s, when the oil companies started to import
         goods which were never previously seen in the Trucial States, such
         shipments were accompanied by formal documentation. Equipment
         for the oil industry was imported free of customs duties.
           Export duties were not normally collected anywhere on the Trucial
         Coast, but when a German firm, Robert Woenckhaus and Co., sent a
         representative to Dalma in 1899 who wanted to export oyster shells,
         he was refused residence there until he had obtained permission
         from the Ruler in Abu Dhabi. He was then allowed to export shells
         after agreeing to pay 13 M.T. dollars per 100 sacks."8

         Reservation of rights
         There were many good fishing areas along the coastline of theTrucial
         States and among the many islands, but fishing along much of the
         coastline was restricted by a system of licences. These licences were
         issued by the Rulers and were an additional source of revenue; to pro­
         tect this revenue the Ruler had to be able on the one hand to enforce
         the collection of annual rents and on the other hand to protect the
         fishermen from poachers.
           In the case of Abu Dhabi, examples can be found of individuals
         who held the fishing rights for as far along the coast as from Khaur al
         fUdaid to Hamra’ (about 100 kilometres), which included four
         islands. Most such concessions were taken by the Rumaithat.89 The
         holder of fishing rights might allow other tribesmen to fish off his
         shores but he could demand one fifth of their catch in payment. There
         was no tax on fish caught or on the sale of fish.
           The collection of almost any saleable commodity found on the land
         or in the sea within the jurisdiction of the Ruler could be subject to
         licensing. Examples are guano, dried sharks and turtles, oyster shells
         and red oxide.90 It was thus recognised that the Ruler had the right to
         issue such licences and himself to benefit financially from them.
         Therefore, when the oil companies came to negotiate concessions it
         was consistent with previous practice that they should sign agree­
         ments with the Ruler in which all royalties and taxes would be
         payable to him.
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