During the Mauryan period the administration was in the hands of

The officials were divided into six committees each with a membership of five. The first committee was concerned with matters relating to industrial arts. The second occupied it with the facilities to the foreigners. The third kept a register of births and deaths both by way of a census and for purposes of taxation. The fourth committee was in charge of matters of trade and commerce. The fifth committee supervised the public sale of manufactured articles. The sixth commit­tee collected the tax on the articles sold, this being one-tenth of the purchase price.