In the legislation, all the proposals are brought in Parliament, for discussion as bills. When a bill is passed by both the chambers of the Parliament and approved by the President, it turns out as an Act. The Speaker decides whether a bill is an ordinary bill or a money bill. An ordinary bill is a bill that can be presented for discussion in any of the two houses of the Parliament, by a minister or private member.
On the contrary, a money bill is presented in the lower house of the Parliament, i.e. the Lok Sabha, for discussion, by a minister. There are a number of points that differentiates an ordinary bill from a money bill, which is discussed in the points given below.
Content: Ordinary Bill Vs Money Bill
Comparison Chart
| Basis for Comparison | Ordinary Bill | Money Bill |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | An ordinary is any bill which contains matters other than the matters covered in the money bill, finance bill, ordinance replacing bills and constitution amendment bills. | A money bill refers to a government bill that deals with matters relating to money, such as imposition and abolition of taxes, borrowings, government expenditure, etc. |
| Introduction | Introduced in Lower House or Upper House of the Parliament, by a minister or a private member. | Introduced in the Lower House of the Parliament by a minister only. |
| Recommendation of President | Not necessary | Mandatory |
| Powers of President | President can approve, reject or return the bill for reconsideration. | President can approve or reject the bill. |
| Rajya Sabha | It can amend, reject or make recommendations to the ordinary bill. | It can only make recommendations to the money bill. |
| Period of holding | Rajya Sabha can hold the money bill for a maximum of 6 months. | Rajya Sabha can hold the money bill for a period not exceeding 14 days. |
| Approval of Speaker | If the bill is first introduced in the Lower House, the approval of the speaker is not required while transmitting it to the Upper House. | It requires the approval of Speaker while transferring it to the Upper House. |
| Joint Sitting | Can be held in case of deadlock. | Cannot be held. |
Definition of Ordinary Bill
An ordinary bill is described as a draft containing a proposed statute, which has to pass through different stages, to become an Act. It contains all the matters which are not covered in the money bill, finance bill, ordinance replacing bills and constitution amendment bills. It can be presented for discussion, in any of the two houses by a private member or minister.
Suppose a bill is introduced in the lower house of the Parliament and after being passed, it is sent to the Upper House which may pass the bill or suggest amendments to the bill and return it to the lower house within six months. When both the houses pass the bill, it is sent to the President, for his assent. The President can give his assent or withhold the same or return the bill, for reconsideration.
If the two houses do not agree or if the bill is held by the other house more than six months, then a Joint sitting of the two houses is summoned by the President. The Lok Sabha Speaker presides over the Joint Session, and a simple majority is required to resolve the deadlock.
Definition of Money Bill
Money bill is a bill containing proposed law relating to imposition and abolition of taxes, borrowings, money appropriation from consolidated fund, audit and accounting and so forth are termed as the money bill. These bills can only be introduced for discussion in the House of People, i.e. the Lok Sabha and that too by a minister only.
After the bill is passed by the lower house, it is transferred to the Upper House or the House of States, i.e. Rajya Sabha, which can only approve the bill or suggest changes to the bill, but has no power to reject it. After that, the bill has to be returned to the lower house, within fourteen days from the date of receipt of the bill.
Now, it is up to the lower house, to accept or reject the recommendations made by the Upper House. If the Lower House accepts the recommendation, the bill is considered as passed by both the houses. And if the recommendations are not accepted by the Lower House, then also it is deemed to have been passed by both the houses. Moreover, if the bill is not returned to the Lok Sabha within the stipulated term, then the bill is considered to be passed by both the chambers.
After the bill is sent to the President for his/her assent, who can approve and disapprove the bill. And once it is approved, it becomes an act.
Key Differences Between Ordinary Bill and Money Bill
The difference between ordinary bill and money bill can be drawn clearly on the following grounds:
- An ordinary bill can be understood as any bill that takes into account the matters other than the matters covered in money bill, finance bill, ordinance replacing bills and constitution amendment bills. On the other hand, a money bill implies a bill that deals with money matters, like an imposition, alteration and abolition of taxes, government spending, consolidated funds, borrowings, etc.
- Ordinary bills are introduced by a minister or private member in either of the two chambers of Parliament. Conversely, a money bill is introduced at the lower chamber of the Parliament by a minister only.
- In case of ordinary bills, no recommendation is made by the President, whereas money bills require the recommendation of the President.
- When it comes to the money bill, the President can only accept or reject the bill. Unlike, ordinary bill where the President can accept, reject or return the bill for reconsideration.
- The Rajya Sabha can amend or reject the ordinary bill. However, it can only make recommendations to the money bill, but cannot reject it.
- The other house of Parliament can detain an ordinary bill for a maximum period of 6 months. In contrast, the Rajya Sabha can hold the money bill for a maximum period of 14 days.
- The Speaker’s certification is not required if the bill is first introduced in the Lok Sabha while transferring it to the Rajya Sabha. As against, the Speaker’s approval becomes mandatory in case of a money bill.
- Deadlock situation may arise in the case of an ordinary bill, when the two houses are in disagreement or when the other house keeps the bill for more than six months. On the contrary, there are no chances of deadlock in case of a money bill, and so there is no joint sitting of the two houses.
Conclusion
The two types of bills deals with different matters, as in a money bill considers money matters, an ordinary bill can be a bill not covering affairs relating to money, finance, amendment and replacement of any bill. By and large, the two bills, differ in their provisions, as to introduction, recommendation, holding period, joint sitting and so forth.
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