What is Money Bill? What special procedure, in respect of the Money Bill, is prescribed in the Constitution of India?

Question: What is Money Bill? What special procedure, in respect of the Money Bill, is prescribed in the Constitution of India? [BJS 1978]

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Answer

Article 110 in the Constitution of India provides for the definition of the Money Bill. Clause 1 of Article 110 says that a Bill shall be deemed to be a Money Bill if it contains only provisions dealing with all or any of the following matters, namely:

1. the imposition, abolition, remission, alteration, or regulation of any tax;
2. the regulation of the borrowing of money or the giving of any guarantee by the Government of India, or the amendment of the law with respect to any financial obligations undertaken or to be undertaken by the Government of India;
3. the custody of the Consolidated Fund or the Contingency Fund of India, the payment of money into or the withdrawal of money from any such Fund;
4. the appropriation of money out of the consolidated Fund of India;
5. the declaring of any expenditure to be expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund of India or the increasing of the amount of any such expenditure;
6. the receipt of money on account of the Consolidated Fund of India or the public account of India or the custody or issue of such money or the audit of the accounts of the Union or of a State; or
7. any matter incidental to any of the matters specified in sub-clause (a) to (f)

Clause 2 of Article 110 further provides that a bill shall not be deemed to be a money bill if it is:

• Imposition of fines or other pecuniary penalties
• Demand or payment of fees for licenses or fees for services rendered
• Imposition, abolition, remission, alteration, or regulation of any tax by any local authority or body for local purposes

Further, Clause 3 of the provision says that in case of dispute to judge whether a bill is a money bill or note, the decision of the Speaker of the House of the People thereon shall be final.

The Special Procedure in respect of Money Bills is envisaged under Article 198 of the Constitution. The clauses of this provision states as follow:

1. A Money Bill shall not be introduced in a Legislative Council.
2. After a Money Bill has been passed by the Legislative Assembly of a State having a Legislative Council, it shall be transmitted to the Legislative Council for its recommendations, and the Legislative Council shall within a period of 14 days from the date of its receipt of the Bill return the Bill to the Legislative Assembly with its recommendations, and the Legislative Assembly may thereupon either accept or reject all or any of the recommendations of the Legislative Council.
3. If the Legislative Assembly accepts any of the recommendations of the Legislative Council, the Money Bill shall be deemed to have been passed by both Houses with the amendments recommended by the Legislative Council and accepted by the Legislative Assembly.
4. If the Legislative Assembly doesn’t accept any of the recommendations of the Legislative Council, the Money Bill shall be deemed to have been passed by both Houses in the form in which it was passed by the Legislative Assembly without any of the amendments recommended by the Legislative Council.
5. If a Money Bill passed by the Legislative Assembly and transmitted to the Legislative Council for its recommendations is not returned to the Legislative Assembly within the said period of 14 days, it shall be deemed to have been passed by both Houses at the expiration of the said period in the form in which it was passed by the Legislative Assembly.

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