Activities of Excise Supervision During the Introduction of State Sales of Alcoholic Beverages on the Left Bank of Ukraine at the End ХІХ – of the Early ХХ Century

Abstract

The purpose of work is to analyze the activities of the excise departments of the Ministry of Finance of the Romanov Empire during the introduction of state sales of alcoholic beverages on the Left Bank of Ukraine in the late ХІХ – early ХХ centuries. On the basic of source materials of the end ХІХ – of the beginning of ХХ centuries, and archival documents of the State Archives of Sumy, Chernihiv and Kharkiv regions the activity of excise departments during the introduction of state sale of alcoholic beverages on the Left Bank of Ukraine at the end ХІХ – of the beginning of the ХХ centuries is characterized. It is analyzed that changes in the central office of the Ministry of Finance, which was engaged in indirect tax collection, also affected the activities of excise departments in the Ukrainian provinces of the Left Bank of Ukraine. Excise departments in the region have acquired greater regulatory powers regarding the taxation of taxable persons, increased the staff of excise agencies and increased cash expenditures on business operations of the departments, they formed new structures of officials subordinate to the Ministry of Finance. The poorly accounted reasons for the introduction of the state wine monopoly are highlighted, among which it is worth noting the chronicprotracted crisis of overproduction of the wine industry, which was not a side effect of the monopoly, but preceded it. It is noted that the profitability of state sales of alcohol is high and it has grown. On the other hand, the introduction of state sales of alcoholic beverages carried the risk of increasing dependence on drinking income of a significant part of the revenue side of the budget. It is also noted that the increase in profits from the circulation of alcoholic beverages was mainly due to increased taxation of production indicators of taxable entities, along with variations in purchase and distribution prices for raw alcohol and rectified alcohol, rather than an increase in alcohol consumption by the population. The introduction of state sale of alcohol had one of the least significant consequences, compared to the excise system of taxation of alcoholic beverages, the overpayment of the population, when drinking alcoholic beverages. When implementing the state wine monopoly of the territory of Chernihiv, Poltava and Kharkiv provinces, the excise supervisory authorities, taking into account the predominance of small-scale agricultural distilling in the deployment, were forced to guarantee the plants a minimum supply, given the size of the province`s factories. Due to the restriction of the alcohol trade on the Left Bank of Ukraine, the illegal sale of alcoholic beverages spread, which, despite the police measures of excise supervisors, could not be stopped. With the introduction of the wine monopoly, the consumption of spirits among the population decreased, as the reform changed the conditions of production and sales, but did not and could not affect the reasons for the consumption of spirits, as the reasons are derived from a number of social and cultural factors, these reasons do not depend on the trade in alcohol. Therefore, the impact of dry legislation on the Left Bank of Ukraine in the 1914–1917 years needs to be disclosed.