2 p.m.: Lok Sabha on 21.03.2017
House reconvenes. Deputy Speaker M. Thambidurai is in the Chair.
Arun Jaitley rises to move that the Finance Bill, 2017 be taken into consideration.
N.K. Premachandran says he is opposed to the Finance Bill under rule 219(1) and Article 110. He says the Finance Bill can only provide for a particular year. Speaker Sumitra Mahajan is in the Chair.
What is Rule 219(1) that the Member refers to?
In this rule “Finance Bill” means the Bill ordinarily introduced in each year to give effect to the financial proposals of the Government of India for the next following financial year and includes a Bill to give effect to supplementary financial proposals for any period.
What is Article 110?
This Article in the Constitution defines a Money Bill, one which can only be debated in the Lok Sabha.
“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 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;
(c) 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;
(d) the appropriation of moneys out of the consolidated Fund of India;
(e) 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;
(f)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
(g) any matter incidental to any of the matters specified in sub clause (a) to (f).”
Mr. Premachandran claims that the Bill amends 40 other existing Acts. “I strongly oppose the moving of this Bill for consideration and passing.” Saugata Roy says the Bill has amendments to 30 Acts.
Mr. Jaitley responds quoting G.V. Mavalankar’s 1952 ruling, on the word ‘only’ in the Constitution in this regard. He says that the Finance Bill as it stands now needs to be a Money Bill to bring in electoral bonds. “Section 13A of the Income Tax Act and clause 11A of The Finance Bill, 2017 deal with electoral bonds. For this provision, RBI and Representation of People Act is amended.
2.30 p.m.: Lok Sabha
Speaker disallows the point of order raised by Mr. Premachandran.