Customs and Fiscal Policy of the Re-Established Mongolian Government (February-July 1921)

Abstract

This article examines the customs and taxation policies of the reestablished Government of the Mongolian State, which existed between February 22 and July 10, 1921, and the implementation of those policies. Whereas previous studies have largely approached this period within the framework of military and political developments, the present study emphasises financial and economic policies through an analysis grounded in the activities of the Ministry of Finance.

The study finds that, in order to increase state revenue, the government sought to implement a policy of imposing uniform customs duties on all parties regardless of citizenship, thereby restricting the special customs privileges that had previously been granted to foreign merchants, particularly those from Russia and Tibet. In particular, archival sources reveal that the ambiguity of customs regulations within the Mongol-Tibetan Agreement created difficulties in the implementation of these policies.

Furthermore, the systematic registration of commercial and industrial enterprises in the capital, Niislel Khuree, and the provinces, together with the monitoring of their activities and revenues, demonstrates that state financial oversight was being effectively implemented. In addition, records of the Ministry of Finance’s income and expenditure accounts indicate that the government operated with relative efficiency during its brief existence and was able to accumulate a certain level of financial surplus.

Therefore, the principal conclusion of this study is that the reestablished Government of the Mongolian State not only fulfilled military and political functions, but also strengthened the financial and taxation system to a certain extent, thereby laying the foundation for the financial and economic policies of the subsequent People’s Government.