NDA (II) 2016 General Ability Test · Question 147 of 150

Correct — D, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha finally decides whether a Bill is a Money Bill. Article 110(3) states that 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. Article 110(4) adds that the Speaker endorses a certificate to that effect on every Money Bill sent to the Rajya Sabha and presented to the President. The finality matters because the entire special procedure — introduction in the Lok Sabha alone, a Rajya Sabha that can only recommend, no joint sitting, no return by the President — hangs on that single certification.

• (a)A Bill shall be deemed to be a Money Bill only if it provides for imposition of fines or penalties — Article 110(2) says the exact opposite. A Bill is not deemed a Money Bill by reason only that it provides for the imposition of fines or other pecuniary penalties, or for fees for licences or services rendered. A Money Bill must contain only the matters listed in Article 110(1) — taxation, borrowing, the Consolidated Fund and the Contingency Fund, appropriation, and matters incidental to these.
• (b)A Money Bill shall be introduced in the Rajya Sabha — Article 109(1) provides that a Money Bill shall not be introduced in the Council of States. It can be introduced only in the Lok Sabha, and only on the recommendation of the President.
• (c)The Rajya Sabha can reject the Money Bill — The Rajya Sabha can neither reject nor amend a Money Bill. It must return the Bill within fourteen days with or without its recommendations, and the Lok Sabha is free to accept or reject those recommendations. If the Bill is not returned within fourteen days, it is deemed passed by both Houses in the form the Lok Sabha sent it.

The Constitution puts financial legislation on a separate track because the power of the purse belongs to the directly elected House. Article 110 defines a Money Bill and gives the Speaker the final word on the classification. Article 109 lays down the special procedure: introduction in the Lok Sabha only, transmission to the Rajya Sabha with the Speaker's certificate, a fourteen-day window in which that House may recommend but not amend or reject, and passage in whatever form the Lok Sabha decides. Because there can be no disagreement in the constitutional sense, the joint sitting mechanism of Article 108 does not apply to Money Bills at all.

Two adjacent categories are worth keeping distinct. A Financial Bill in the wider sense also deals with revenue or expenditure but contains other matters as well, so it does not qualify under Article 110(1) and follows the ordinary Bill procedure, with the Rajya Sabha's full powers intact. Only a Bill certified by the Speaker is a Money Bill. The President's position also differs: an ordinary Bill may be returned for reconsideration under Article 111, but a Money Bill may only be assented to or withheld, never sent back — which follows naturally from the fact that it was introduced on the President's own recommendation in the first place.

• Article 110(3): if a question arises whether a Bill is a Money Bill, the decision of the Speaker of the Lok Sabha is final.
• Article 109(1): a Money Bill cannot be introduced in the Rajya Sabha; it is introduced in the Lok Sabha on the President's recommendation.
• The Rajya Sabha must return a Money Bill within fourteen days and may only make recommendations, which the Lok Sabha may accept or reject.
• Article 110(2): a Bill is not a Money Bill merely because it imposes fines or pecuniary penalties, or charges fees for licences or services.
• There is no joint sitting for a Money Bill, and the President cannot return one for reconsideration.

• Confusing a Money Bill with a Financial Bill; only the first carries the Speaker's certificate and the restricted procedure.
• Thinking the Rajya Sabha can reject a Money Bill — it can only recommend, and only within fourteen days.
• Assuming a joint sitting can resolve a deadlock over a Money Bill; constitutionally no deadlock can arise.

Money Bills are one of the most heavily examined corners of Indian polity in both NDA and the civil services, and nearly every version turns on the Speaker's certificate, the fourteen-day rule or the Rajya Sabha's limited role.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  If the Rajya Sabha does not return a Money Bill to the Lok Sabha within fourteen days, the Bill

  • (a)lapses
  • (b)is deemed to have been passed by both Houses in the form passed by the Lok Sabha
  • (c)goes to a joint sitting of both Houses
  • (d)is referred to the President for a decision

  Answer(b) is deemed to have been passed by both Houses in the form passed by the Lok Sabha — the fourteen-day window is the whole of the Rajya Sabha's power here.

• practice — not a real PYQ

  In respect of a Money Bill presented to the President for assent, the President may

  • (a)return it to the Lok Sabha for reconsideration
  • (b)assent to it or withhold assent, but not return it
  • (c)refer it to the Supreme Court for an advisory opinion
  • (d)amend it before assenting

  Answer(b) assent to it or withhold assent, but not return it — the power of return under Article 111 does not extend to Money Bills.