IOR/R/15/2/1321

This file contains correspondence between the British Political Agent at Bahrain; Secretary to the Political Resident at Bushire; the Upper Air Observatory, Bahrain; Senior Naval Officer in the Persian Gulf; Charles Dalrymple Belgrave, Adviser to the Bahrain Government; Claude C L de Grenier, Director of Customs and Port Officer, Bahrain; Mesopotamia Persia Corporation Limited; British India Steam Navigation Company; Muḥammad bin ‘Īsá Āl Khalīfah, President of Municipality (ra’īs al-baladiyya), Manamah; Abdul Majeed, Bushire Residency bookbinder; Acting British Consul, Basra; Muhammed Khan, Sub-Postmaster, Bahrain; and Abdul Rehman Altobaishi [‘Abd al-Raḥmān al-Ṭubayshī], Grand Chamberlain to His Majesty King Ibn Saoud [‘Abd al-‘Azīz bin ‘Abd al-Raḥmān bin Fayṣal Āl Sa‘ūd (Ibn Sa‘ūd)].

The correspondence concerns various cases of exemptions from customs duty payments, including the Upper Air Observatory (ff. 4, 27-33, 50-51, 54-55, 59-75 and 151-153), American Mission (ff. 7-9 and 12-26), Royal Navy (ff. 56-58, 107-114 and 117-119) and Royal Indian Navy personnel (ff. 126-127 and 132-133). There are regular lists of Agency, Post Office and Victoria Memorial Hospital staff eligible for exemptions, including revisions and amendments, sent from the Political Agent at Bahrain to the Director of Customs (ff. 10-11, 39-45, 78-82, 84, 87, 91, 94, 98-100, 115-116, 122-125, 137-139 and 144). In addition, there is correspondence concerning the payment of the Municipal Tax (baladiyya) and customs on gramophones for Agency staff (ff. 36-37 and 42-43) and the question of exemptions for the Publicity Officer and Publicity Office staff (ff. 146-150).

Other correspondence concerns a suggestion to remove customs duty on launch engines to encourage launch building as a secondary industry in Bahrain (ff. 2-6) and the Shaikh of Bahrain's exemption from Indian customs (ff. 47, 76-77, 83, 85-86, 88-90, 92 and 95-97), including correspondence concerning the exemption of customs duties on cars belonging to the Shaikh of Bahrain (ff. 128-131).