Finance Bill passed in Lok Sabha

Amid uproar by the Opposition parties, the Finance Bill, 2018, was passed here in Lok Sabha on Wednesday.

This follows a massive discontent expressed in the Lower House of Parliament by members from various political parties on Tuesday, opposing the Central government's move to pass the Finance Bill without a discussion in the House.

In a letter addressed to Lok Sabha Speaker Sumitra Mahajan, the MPs demanded a discussion on the Bill.

According to the letter, the passing of the Bill without a discussion was termed as the central government's "arrogant" and "unilateral" move to bulldoze all the Finance business without any discussion on the floor of the House.

For the unversed, a Finance Bill is presented in Parliament along with the Annual Financial Statement in lieu of fulfilling the requirement of Article 110 (1)(a) of the Constitution, detailing the imposition, abolition, remission, alteration or regulation of taxes proposed in the Union Budget.

The Finance Bill also contains other provisions related to the Budget, which can be classified as a Money Bill.