What are Money Bills?

Lok Sabha last week passed the Aadhaar Bill as a Money Bill, prompting
allegations that it had been classified as such to bypass Rajya Sabha, where
the government doesnt have majority.

Definition
Under Article 110(1) of the Constitution, a Bill is deemed to be a Money Bill if it
contains only provisions dealing with all or any of the following matters:
(a) the imposition, abolition, remission, alteration or regulation of any tax;
(b) regulation of borrowing by the government;
(c) custody of the Consolidated Fund or Contingency Fund of India, and payments
into or withdrawals from these Funds;
(d) appropriation of moneys out of the Consolidated Fund of India;
(e) declaring of any expenditure to be expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund
of India or the increasing of the amount of any such expenditure;
(f) 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
(g) any matter incidental to any of the matters specified in sub-clauses (a) to (f).
But 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.
Article 110 (3) lays down 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.
This means that once the Speaker has certified a Bill as a Money Bill, its nature
cannot be questioned in a court of law, in the Houses of Parliament, or even by the
President.
Procedure
Under Article 109 (1), a Money Bill cannot be introduced in Rajya Sabha. Once
passed by Lok Sabha, it is sent to Rajya Sabha along with the Speakers certificate
that it is a Money Bill for its recommendations. However, Rajya Sabha can neither
reject nor amend the Bill, and must return it within 14 days, after which Lok Sabha
may choose to accept or reject all or any of its recommendations. In either case, the
Bill is deemed to have been passed by both Houses. Under Article 109(5), if Rajya
Sabha fails to return the Bill to Lok Sabha within 14 days, it is deemed to have been
passed anyway.
The procedure to pass a Money Bill in Parliament is a key provision limiting the
powers of Rajya Sabha compared to Lok Sabha. Any Bill other than a Money Bill
cannot become law unless both Houses agree to it with or without amendments.
This is important in the current context of questions being raised over classifying a
Bill as a Money Bill allegedly to bypass Rajya Sabha, where the government does not
have a majority.
Financial Bill
In a general sense, any Bill that relates to revenue or expenditure is a Financial Bill. A
Money Bill is a specific kind of Financial Bill, defined very precisely: a Bill is
deemed to be a Money Bill if it deals only with matters specified in Article 110 (1) (a)
to (g). A Money Bill is certified by the Speaker as such in other words, only those
Financial Bills that carry the Speakers certification are Money Bills.
Financial Bills that are not certified by the Speaker are of two kinds: Bills that contain
any of the matters specified in Article 110, but do not contain only those matters
[Article 117 (1)]; and ordinary Bills that contain provisions involving expenditure
from the Consolidated Fund [Article 117 (3)].
A Bill of the first kind, like a Money Bill, can be introduced only in Lok Sabha, and
only with the recommendation of the President. But other restrictions that apply to
Money Bills do not apply to these Bills. Bills under Article 117 (3)can be introduced
in either House, though the Presidents recommendation is essential for their
consideration, and therefore, passage