Definition of “Money Bills”

Article 90, Draft Constitution 1948

(1) For the purposes of this Chapter, 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:-

(a) The imposition, abolition, remission, alteration or regulation of any tax;

(b) 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;

(c) Supply;

(d) The appropriation of the revenues of India;

(e) The declaring of any expenditure to be expenditure charged on the revenues of India or the increasing of the amount of any such expenditure;

(f) The receipt of money on account of the revenues of India or the custody or issue of such money or the audit of the accounts of the Government of India; or

(g) Any matter incidental to any of the matters specified in items (a) to (f) of this clause.

(2) A Bill shall not be deemed to be a Money Bill by reason only that it provides for the imposition of fines or other pecuniary penalties, or for the demand or payment of fees for licences or fees for services rendered or by reason that it provides for the imposition, abolition, remission, alteration or regulation of any tax by any local authority or body for local purposes.

(3) If any question arises whether a Bill is a Money Bill or not, the decision of the Speaker of the House of the People thereon shall be final.

(4) There shall be endorsed on every Money Bill when it is transmitted to the Council of States under the last preceding article, and when it is presented to the President for assent under the next succeeding article, the certificate of the Speaker of the House of the People signed by him that it is a Money Bill.

(1) For the purposes of this Chapter, 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—

(a) the imposition, abolition, remission, alteration or regulation of any tax;

(b) 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;

(c) the custody of the Consolidated Fund or the Contingency Fund of India, the payment of moneys into or the withdrawal of moneys from any such Fund;

(d) the appropriation of moneys out of the Consolidated Fund of India;

(e) 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;

(f) 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

(g) any matter incidental to any of the matters specified in sub-clauses (a) to (f).

⁠(2) A Bill shall not be deemed to be a Money Bill by reason only that it provides for the imposition of fines or other pecuniary penalties, or for the demand or payment of fees for licences or fees for services rendered, or by reason that it provides for the imposition, abolition, remission, alteration or regulation of any tax by any local authority or body for local purposes.

⁠(3) If any question arises whether a Bill is a Money Bill or not, the decision of the Speaker of the House of the People thereon shall be final.

⁠(4) There shall be endorsed on every Money Bill when it is transmitted to the Council of States under article 109, and when it is presented to the President for assent under article 111, the certificate of the Speaker of the House of the People signed by him that it is a Money Bill.

Draft Article 90 (Article 110) was debated on 20 May 1949 and 8 June 1949. It laid down the definition and scope of Money Bills.

The first iteration of the Draft Article was discussed on 20th May 1949. A member moved an amendment to insert ‘duty, charge, rate, levy or any other form of revenue, income or receipt by’ in clause 1 (a). He was concerned that the word ‘tax’ may be too narrowly construed by lawyers. The other forms of income or public revenue would, therefore, be excluded.

The Chairman of the Drafting Committee noted that the Committee would reconsider this provision and present it at a later stage. On 8th June 1949, he moved a series of amendments. He sought to replace clauses 1 (c) and (d) with the following:

‘(c) the custody of the Consolidated Fund or the Contingency Fund of India, the payment of moneys into or the withdrawal of moneys from any such fund; (d) the appropriation of moneys out of the Consolidated Fund of India’

Through his amendment, the Chairman introduced the Assembly to the Consolidated Fund of India. He noted that the Consolidated Fund was just another term for Public Account (revenues) of the Central Government. Citing references to the Constitutions of Canada, Australia, South Africa, Ireland, he argued that Consolidated Fund was a necessity – it would prevent ‘proceeds of taxes being frittered away by laws made by Parliament in individual purposes without regard to the general necessity of the people at all.’

A member was apprehensive about the change in nomenclature. He was not convinced as to way ‘revenues of India’ needed to be changed to ‘Consolidated Fund of India’. He believed that the latter term could create confusion as it indicated the existence of a fund other than revenues of India. Another member, although noted that use of ‘Consolidated Fund’ would clarify the procedural aspects of the Money Bill, it ‘burden(ed) the Constitution too much with details’.

The Assembly accepted the amendments moved by the Drafting Committee and adopted the Draft Article on 8 June 1949.