D.Y. Chandrachud agreed to list petitions challenging the Money Bill route taken by the Centre to pass contentious amendments in the Parliament. “I will list when I form Constitution Benches,” The Chief Justice addressed WHAT IS A MONEY BILL? A Money Bill is deemed to contain only provisions dealing with all or any of the matters under clauses (a) to (g) of Article 110(1), largely including the appropriation of money from the Consolidated Fund of India and taxation. In other words, a Money Bill is restricted only to the specified financial matters. ARTICLE 110 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:—
  • The imposition, abolition, remission, alteration or regulation of any tax;
  • 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;
  • 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;
  • The appropriation of moneys out of the Consolidated Fund of India;
  • 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;
  • 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
  • Any matter incidental to any of the matters specified in sub-clauses (a) to (f).

OTHER PROVISIONS

  • 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.
  • 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.
  • There shall be endorsement on every Money Bill- the certificate of the Speaker of the House of the People signed by him that it is a Money Bill.
  • It is introduced in Lok Sabha only with prior consent of the President. Once passed, the President has to sign it.
  • It can be introduced by a minister only & no provision of joint sitting is there.
POWERS OF RAJYA SABHA ON MONEY BILLS The Rajya Sabha has no power to reject or amend a Money Bill, but it can make recommendations and return it to the Lok Sabha within 14 days. If the rajya sabha doesn't return the bill within 14 days, neither passes it, it's considered passed in both houses. In case Rajya Sabha gives some recommendations, The Lok Sabha can then accept or reject the recommendations. THE CURRENT CASE The reference includes legal questions concerning amendments made from 2015 onwards in the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) through Money Bills, giving the Enforcement Directorate almost blanket powers of arrest, raids, etc. Though the court had upheld the legality of the PMLA amendments, it left the question of whether the amendments could have been passed as Money Bills to the seven-judge bench