What is the difference between an Ordinary bill and a Money Bill?

Ordinary bills and money bills are essentially proposals which are brought before the parliament for discussion and thereafter to be passed as statutes. In our legislature for a bill to become an act, it is required to be passed by both houses of the parliament i.e., Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. Once passed by both the houses, bills are then sent to the president to be approved.
 

What is an Ordinary Bill?

An ordinary bill as the name suggests, is a draft bill proposing the enactment of a statute which is placed before the legislature for such purpose. An ordinary bill can be presented for any subject other than subjects falling under the ambit of money bills or related to finance bills or those seeking amendment of the constitution or ordinance replacing bills. Ordinary bills can be presented in both the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha by a minister or a private member. Another important characteristic of an ordinary bill is that the president’s recommendation is not required before presenting it before either house. Once passed in the house before which it is first presented, an ordinary bill is sent to the other house for a renewed round of discussions and is may be kept for a period of six months for such purpose. The bill may either be passed or be sent back to the house before which it was presented along with recommendations. However, in case the two houses fail to reach an agreement or the bill is held for more than 6 months, a joint sitting of both houses is called for where the deadlock can be resolved by a vote.
 

What is a Money Bill?

Money Bills, unlike ordinary bills are characterised by the nature of the act is proposes. Money bills are thus essentially those which pertain to subject matters such as taxation, borrowing of money by the government and/or expenditure from or receipt to the consolidated fund. Thus, money bills are of a more specific nature and fall under this narrow ambit. Money bills can only be introduced in the lower house of the parliament i.e., the Lok Sabha by a minister only. Further, a money bill cannot be introduced before the Lok Sabha without the recommendation of the President. Therefore, once passed by the Lok Sabha by a simple majority of the members present and voting, it is naturally sent to the Rajya Sabha for its recommendations. However, the Rajya Sabha cannot reject the money bill and simply has the right to provide recommendations. Conversely, the Lok Sabha is empowered to reject the recommendations of the Rajya Sabha and if no recommendations are given by the Rajya Sabha within a period of 14 days, such money bill is deemed to have been passed by both houses of the parliament.
 

Difference between an Ordinary Bill and a Money Bill

The following are the differences between ordinary and money bills:

1. An ordinary bill can pertain to matters and subjects other than those covered by a money bill, finance bill, ordinance replacing bills and bills pertaining to constitutional amendments. On the other hand, money bills are much narrower in scope and only pertain to matters such as taxation, borrowing of money by the government and/or expenditure from or receipt to the consolidated fund.

2. While an ordinary bill can be introduced in either of the two houses, a money bill can only be introduced before the Lok Sabha.

3. An ordinary bill can even be introduced by a private member however, a money bill can only be introduced by a minister of the lower house.

4. Unlike an ordinary bill, a money bill can only be introduced in the Lok Sabha upon recommendation by the President.

5. Another point of distinction is the fact that after being passed by the two houses, the powers available to the president are also different with respect to money bills as opposed to ordinary bills. In case of a money bill the president may only either accept or reject the bill while in case of an ordinary bill, the president can also make recommendations.

6. The occurrence of a deadlock between the two houses is not a possible outcome in the case of money bills vis-à-vis ordinary bills, since the Rajya Sabha can only make recommendations which the Lok Sabha is not bound to accept in case of a money bill. On the other hand, the Rajya Sabha is empowered to amend or even reject an ordinary bill passed by the Lok Sabha.

7. An ordinary bill can be kept for a period of 6 months for deliberations by a house once it is passed by the other house before which it was introduced. However, the Rajya Sabha only has a period of 14 days available to it to make recommendations once a money bill is transferred to it by the Lok Sabha.

8. When an ordinary bill first introduced before the Lok Sabha is being transferred to the Rajya Sabha, the certification of the speaker is not mandatory. On the other hand, the approval of the speaker is a mandatory condition before transferring a money bill to the Rajya Sabha.