APPROPRIATION BILL

APPROPRIATION BILL

Subject: Polity

Context: The Lok Sabha cleared the Appropriation Bill 2021-22, allowing the Central government to draw funds from the Consolidated Fund of India for its operational requirements and implementation of various programmes.

Concept:

• Under Article 114(3) of the Constitution, no amount can be withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund without the enactment of such a law by Parliament.
• After the Demands for Grants are voted by the Lok Sabha, Parliament’s approval to the withdrawal from the Consolidated Fund of the amounts so voted and of the amount required to meet the expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund is sought through the Appropriation Bill.

Guillotine

• The Bill was passed after Speaker Om Birla put it through guillotine, a legislative mechanism to approve the fast-tracking of the passage of outstanding demands for grants without discussion.
• While guillotine literally is a large, weighted blade used for executing a condemned person, in legislative parlance, to ”guillotine” means to bunch together and fast-track the passage of financial business.
• It is a fairly common procedural exercise in Lok Sabha during the Budget Session.

Finance Bill

• The Lok Sabha will now discuss the Finance Bill, which essentially contains the government’s tax proposals. Once the Finance Bill is passed, the budget exercise is complete.
• Both appropriation and finance bills are classified as money bills which do not require the explicit consent of the Rajya Sabha. The upper house only discusses them and returns the bills.
• After passing the Finance Bill, it enters the statute as the Finance Act. Thus, the final Budget gets approved.