Article 110

Background and evolution

The framers drew the definition of a Money Bill from Section 1 of the UK Parliament Act, 1911, which limited the House of Lords' power over finance after the Lords rejected the "People's Budget" of 1909. In Britain, the Speaker of the House of Commons certifies Money Bills, consulting two senior members, and the definition is applied narrowly. The Government of India Act, 1935 had a similar provision for the Federal Legislature.

In the Constituent Assembly, members debated whether the Speaker's certificate should be final. The draft retained finality to avoid disputes delaying financial business. For decades, the provision attracted little controversy. Debate intensified after 2016, when the Aadhaar Act and later the Finance Act, 2017 (which restructured tribunals) were passed as Money Bills, bypassing the Rajya Sabha's power to amend or reject.

Key features and provisions

• Clause (1), the seven heads: (a) imposition, abolition, remission, alteration or regulation of any tax; (b) regulation of borrowing or guarantees by the Government of India; (c) custody of the Consolidated Fund or Contingency Fund, and payment into or withdrawal from them; (d) appropriation of money out of the Consolidated Fund; (e) declaring any expenditure to be charged on the Consolidated Fund, or increasing such expenditure; (f) receipt of money on account of the Consolidated Fund or the public account, or audit of accounts of the Union or a state; (g) any matter incidental to any of the above.
• The word "only": a Bill is a Money Bill if it contains only provisions dealing with all or any of these matters. A Bill with even one provision outside the list should, on a strict reading, not qualify.
• Clause (2), exclusions: a Bill is not a Money Bill merely because it provides for fines or penalties, demands fees for licences or services, or deals with taxes by local authorities.
• Clause (3), finality: if a question arises, the Speaker's decision is final.
• Clause (4), certificate: the Speaker endorses a certificate that it is a Money Bill when transmitting it to the Rajya Sabha and presenting it to the President.
• State counterpart: Article 199 contains identical provisions for state legislatures, with the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly deciding.