सं Samvidhan

The Constitution of India

Article 199

Definition of “Money Bills”

(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 State, or the amendment of the law with respect to any financial obligations undertaken or to be undertaken by the State;

(c) the custody of the Consolidated Fund or the Contingency Fund of the State, 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 the State;

(e) the declaring of any expenditure to be expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund of the State, or the increasing of the amount of any such expenditure;

(f) the receipt of money on account of the Consolidated Fund of the State or the public account of the State or the custody or issue of such money; 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 introduced in the Legislature of a State which has a Legislative Council is a Money Bill or not, the decision of the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly of such State thereon shall be final.

(4) There shall be endorsed on every Money Bill when it is transmitted to the Legislative Council under article 198, and when it is presented to the Governor for assent under article 200, the certificate of the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly signed by him that it is a Money Bill.

Why this exists

India's Constitution gives directly elected Legislative Assemblies primary control over taxation and public money, following the British parliamentary tradition that the 'purse strings' belong to the elected chamber. In states with a Legislative Council (an indirectly elected upper house), Article 199 (mirroring Article 110 for Parliament) ensures the Council cannot block, amend, or delay a Bill purely about state finances — it can only give recommendations, and the Assembly can accept or reject them. The Speaker's certification and the finality clause were meant to avoid repeated disputes over classification of Bills between the two Houses.

How courts read it

There is no widely reported case interpreting Article 199 itself, since only a few states (like Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana) currently have Legislative Councils. However, the near-identical Union provision, Article 110, was closely examined by the Supreme Court in K.S. Puttaswamy v. Union of India (2018) (the Aadhaar case), where the majority held that the Speaker's certification of a Bill as a Money Bill is not entirely beyond judicial review, even though the Constitution calls it 'final'; courts can still check whether the Bill's substance actually fits the definition. Legal commentators expect the same reasoning to apply to Article 199 by analogy, since its structure and language mirror Article 110, but this has not yet been directly tested by courts for a state Money Bill.

Common misconceptions
  • Myth: Any bill that mentions money or fees is automatically a Money Bill.
    Fact: Clause (2) specifically excludes bills that merely impose fines, licence fees, or service fees, or local taxes for local purposes — these are not Money Bills.
  • Myth: The Speaker's certification can never be questioned by anyone, including courts.
    Fact: While Article 199(3) calls the Speaker's decision 'final,' the Supreme Court's reasoning on the parallel Union provision (Article 110) in the Aadhaar case suggests courts can still review whether a Bill genuinely fits the Money Bill definition.
  • Myth: This Article applies to every state legislature.
    Fact: It only matters in states that actually have a Legislative Council (a second chamber); most Indian states have only one house and don't need this distinction.