Article 110 of the Constitution deals with the dentition of money bills. It states that a bill is deemed to be a money bill if it contains ‘only’ provisions dealing with all or any of the following matters:

I) The imposition, abolition, remission, alteration or regulation of any tax.

II) The regulation of the borrowing of money by the Union Government.

III) The custody of the Consolidated Fund of India or the Contingency Fund of India, the payment of moneys into or the withdrawal of money from any such fund;

IV) The appropriation of money out of the Consolidated Fund of India;

V) Declaration of any expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund of India or increasing the amount of any such expenditure;

VI) 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

VII) Any matter incidental to any of the matters specified above.

However, a bill is not to be deemed to be a money bill by reason only that it provides for:

I) the imposition of fines or other pecuniary penalties, or

II) the demand or payment of fees for licenses or fees for services rendered; or

III) the imposition, abolition, remission, alteration or regulation of any tax by any local authority or body for local purposes.

If there is any doubt about whether a bill is a money bill or not, the Speaker of the Lok Sabha's decision is definitive. His decision in this matter cannot be challenged in any court of law, by either House of Parliament, or even by the president. The Speaker endorses a money bill when it is forwarded to the Rajya Sabha for recommendation and presented to the President for assent.

The Constitution establishes a particular procedure for passing money bills in Parliament. A money bill can only be introduced in the Lok Sabha on the president's advice. Every such bill is called a government bill, and it can only be introduced by a minister.

After the Lok Sabha passes a money bill, it is sent to the Rajya Sabha for consideration. In the case of a money bill, the Rajya Sabha has limited its powers. A money bill cannot be rejected or amended. Its only capability is to give recommendations. It has 14 days to return the bill to the Lok Sabha, with or without recommendations. The Lok Sabha can accept or reject all or some of the Rajya Sabha's recommendations.

If the Lok Sabha accepts any of the recommendations, the bill is regarded to have been enacted by both Houses in the changed form. If the Lok Sabha does not accept any proposal, the bill is regarded to have been enacted by both Houses in the form in which it was first passed by the Lok Sabha, with no changes.

If the Rajya Sabha does not return the bill to the Lok Sabha within 14 days, the it is presumed to have been passed by both Houses in the form that the Lok Sabha originally passed it in. As a result, when it comes to a money bill, the Lok Sabha has more authority than the Rajya Sabha. In the case of an ordinary bill, however, both Houses have equal authority.

Finally, when a money bill is given to the president, he may either give or withhold his approval to the law, but he cannot return the bill to the Houses for reconsideration. Normally, the president provides his assent to a money bill as soon as it is tabled in Parliament with his previous approval.