Once the Finance Bill is introduced in Parliament, it must be passed and receive the President's assent within:

Under the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act, 1931, the Finance Bill must be enacted, that is passed by Parliament and assented to by the President, within 75 days of its introduction.

What is the Finance Bill:

• The Finance Bill is introduced every year along with the Budget.
• It contains the government's proposals for imposing new taxes, changing existing taxes, or continuing taxes at existing rates.
• It is a Money Bill.

Why the 75-day rule exists:

• New tax rates often come into force from the date the Finance Bill is introduced, under a declaration made under the Provisional Collection of Taxes Act.
• The government can collect taxes provisionally at the proposed rates, even before the bill becomes law.
• To prevent this provisional collection from continuing indefinitely, the Act requires the bill to be enacted within 75 days.

Stages of the Budget:

• Presentation of the Budget.
• General discussion.
• Scrutiny by departmental committees.
• Voting on demands for grants.
• Passing of the bill authorising expenditure.
• Passing of the Finance Bill.

Taxation and the Constitution:

• Article 265 says that no tax shall be levied or collected except by authority of law.
• So all taxes need a law passed by the legislature, and the Finance Bill provides this authority each year.

Difference from the bill authorising spending:

• The Finance Bill deals with the revenue side, that is, taxes.
• A separate bill deals with the expenditure side and allows withdrawal from the Consolidated Fund.

Budget date:

• Since the Budget is now presented on 1 February, the Finance Bill is usually passed by the end of March, before the financial year begins on 1 April.
• Earlier, when the Budget was presented at the end of February, the Finance Bill was often passed in April or May, within the 75-day limit.

Why not the other options?

• ✗30, 60 and 90 days are not the period laid down for enacting the Finance Bill.