What are Financial bills?
Financial bills are those bills that deal with fiscal matters, that is, revenue or expenditure. Financial bills are of three kinds:
Money bills–Article 110
Financial bills (I)–Article 117 (1)
Financial bills (II)–Article 117 (3)
Is it true that all money bills are financial bills?
Money bills are type of financial bills. Hence, all money bills are financial bills but all financial bills are not money bills.
Only those financial bills are money bills which contain exclusively those matters which are mentioned in Article 110 of the Constitution. These are also certified by the Speaker of Lok Sabha as money bills.
The financial bills (I) and (II), on the other hand, have been dealt with in Article 117 of the Constitution.
What is a Financial Bill (I)?
A financial bill (I) is a bill that contains not only any or all the matters mentioned in Article 110, but also other matters of general legislation. For instance, a bill that contains a borrowing clause, but does not exclusively deal with borrowing.
In what ways financial bill (I) is similar to money bill?
In two respects, a financial bill (I) is similar to a money bill–
(a) both of them can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha and not in the Rajya Sabha, and
(b) both of them can be introduced only on the recommendation of the president.
In what ways financial bill (I) is similar to ordinary bill?
In all other respects, a financial bill (I) is governed by the same legislative procedure applicable to an ordinary bill.
It can be either rejected or amended by the Rajya Sabha (except that an amendment other than for reduction or abolition of a tax cannot be moved in either House without the recommendation of the president i.e., the recommendation of president is not required for moving an amendment making provision for the reduction or aboliition of a tax).
In case of a disagreement between the two Houses over such a bill, the president can summon a joint sitting of the two Houses to resolve the deadlock.
When the bill is presented to the President, he can either give his assent to the bill or withhold his assent to the bill or return the bill for reconsideration of the Houses.
What is a Financial Bill (II)?
A financial bill (II) contains provisions involving expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of India, but does not include any of the matters mentioned in Article 110.
In what ways financial bill (II) is similar to ordinary bill?
financial bill (II) is treated as an ordinary bill and in all respects, it is governed by the same legislative procedure which is applicable to an ordinary bill.
It can be either rejected or amended by either House of Parliament.
In case of a disagreement between the two Houses over such a bill, the President can summon a joint sitting of the two Houses to resolve the deadlock.
When the bill is presented to the President, he can either give his assent to the bill or withhold his assent to the bill or return the bill for reconsideration of the Houses
At what stage of a financial bill (II) the recommendation of the President is required?
The only special feature of this bill is that it cannot be passed by either House of Parliament unless the President has recommended to that House the consideration of the bill.
Hence, financial bill (II) can be introduced in either House of Parliament and recommendation of the President is not necessary for its introduction. In other words, the recommendation of the President is not required at the introduction stage but is required at the consideration stage.
