Legislative Procedure for Money Bills in State Legislature

Money bills procedure in a State Legislature is laid down in Article 198, which gives the Legislative Assembly near-total control over Money Bills while reducing the Legislative Council's role to a fast, recommendatory check. This is a sharply different arrangement from the suspensive veto the Council enjoys over ordinary bills under Article 197.

No Introduction in the Legislative Council

Article 198(1) states plainly that a Money Bill shall not be introduced in a Legislative Council. Every Money Bill must originate in the Legislative Assembly, which is consistent with the wider constitutional design of keeping control over taxation and expenditure with the directly elected House.

The Fourteen-Day Recommendation Window

Once a Money Bill has been passed by the Legislative Assembly of a State that has a Legislative Council, it is transmitted to the Council for its recommendations. Under Article 198(2), the Council must return the Bill to the Assembly with its recommendations within fourteen days of receiving it. The Assembly may then accept or reject all or any of those recommendations — it is under no obligation to adopt any of them.

What Happens After the Council Reports Back

If the Council Misses the Fourteen-Day Deadline

Article 198(5) covers the case where the Council simply does not return the Bill within the fourteen-day period. In that situation, the Money Bill is deemed to have been passed by both Houses at the expiry of the fourteen days, in the form in which the Legislative Assembly had passed it. Silence or delay by the Council, in other words, cannot hold up a Money Bill beyond the fixed window.

The Speaker's Certificate Settles the Question

Whether a particular Bill introduced in a State Legislature having a Legislative Council is a Money Bill is decided by the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly, and that decision is final. Every Money Bill carries the Speaker's certificate to this effect both when it is transmitted to the Legislative Council under Article 198 and when it is presented to the Governor for assent under Article 200.

How This Differs from an Ordinary Bill's Passage

Under Article 197, a Legislative Council can withhold an ordinary bill for up to three months on first transmission and a further month after the Assembly re-passes it, giving it a genuine — if ultimately losing — role in shaping non-Money legislation. Article 198 compresses that entire process into a single fourteen-day recommendation stage for Money Bills, with the Assembly free to disregard the Council's suggestions altogether. The Union Parliament follows a structurally identical scheme for its own Money Bills under Article 109, where the Rajya Sabha similarly gets only fourteen days to recommend changes that the Lok Sabha may accept or reject, underlining that this compressed, Assembly-dominant procedure for Money Bills is a consistent constitutional pattern at both the Union and State levels.

UPSC Relevance

Prelims: Remember the specific figures in Article 198 — a Money Bill cannot be introduced in the Legislative Council, and the Council has exactly fourteen days to return it with recommendations, failing which it is deemed passed as the Assembly passed it. Also note that the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly's decision on whether a Bill is a Money Bill is final.

Mains: Compare the near-absolute control the Legislative Assembly exercises over Money Bills under Article 198 with the more contested, time-bound suspensive veto the Council holds over ordinary bills under Article 197, and discuss what this asymmetry reveals about the constitutional treatment of the power of the purse.

FAQ

Q1. Can a Money Bill be introduced in a State Legislative Council? A. No. Article 198(1) bars introduction of a Money Bill in a Legislative Council; it must originate in the Legislative Assembly.

Q2. How long does the Legislative Council have to act on a Money Bill? A. Fourteen days from receipt, within which it must return the Bill to the Assembly with its recommendations.

Q3. Is the Legislative Assembly bound to accept the Council's recommendations? A. No. The Assembly may accept or reject all or any of the Council's recommendations on a Money Bill.

Q4. What happens if the Council does not return the Bill within fourteen days? A. The Money Bill is deemed passed by both Houses at the expiry of that period, in the form the Assembly had passed it.

Q5. Who decides whether a Bill is a Money Bill, and is that decision final? A. The Speaker of the Legislative Assembly decides, and the decision is final; a certificate to that effect is endorsed on the Bill when it goes to the Council and later to the Governor.

Quick Revision

• Article 198 = special procedure for Money Bills in a State Legislature.
• Money Bill cannot be introduced in a Legislative Council (198(1)).
• Council has fourteen days to return a Money Bill with recommendations (198(2)).
• Assembly may accept or reject any/all Council recommendations (198(2)).
• If Assembly accepts some recommendations, Bill deemed passed with those amendments (198(3)).
• If Assembly accepts none, Bill deemed passed exactly as the Assembly passed it (198(4)).
• If Council misses the 14-day deadline, Bill deemed passed as the Assembly passed it (198(5)).
• Speaker of the Legislative Assembly's certification of a Money Bill is final (Article 199(4)/200).
• Parallel Union provision: Article 109, with the Rajya Sabha in the Council's role.

Sources

• Constitution of India, Article 198 — https://www.indiacode.nic.in/
• Constitution of India, Article 199 — https://www.indiacode.nic.in/
• Constitution of India, Article 200 — https://www.indiacode.nic.in/
• Constitution of India, Article 109 (Union parallel) — https://www.indiacode.nic.in/

Further Reference

For deeper reading on this topic and the wider polity syllabus, these standard works are recommended:

• M. Laxmikanth, Indian Polity (McGraw Hill) — the standard UPSC handbook.
• D.D. Basu, Introduction to the Constitution of India (LexisNexis) — authoritative constitutional-law treatment.
• The Constitution of India — Bare Act — the official text.

Disclosure: As an Amazon Associate, UPSC.wiki earns from qualifying purchases — at no extra cost to you.