The Annual Financial Statement

In one line

The Constitution never uses the word budget; what it requires is an annual financial statement, and its most important feature is the line it draws between money the House votes and money the House may only discuss.

In the wording a student can write in an exam: article 112(1) requires the President in respect of every financial year to cause to be laid before both Houses of Parliament a statement of the estimated receipts and expenditure of the Government of India for that year, referred to in Part XII as the annual financial statement; article 112(2) requires the estimates of expenditure to show separately the sums required to meet expenditure charged upon the Consolidated Fund of India and the sums required to meet other expenditure proposed to be made from that Fund, and to distinguish expenditure on revenue account from other expenditure; and article 112(3) enumerates the expenditure which is charged, article 113(1) providing that so much of the estimates as relates to charged expenditure shall not be submitted to the vote of Parliament, though nothing in that clause prevents its discussion in either House.

What article 112 requires

112(1). The President shall in respect of every financial year cause to be laid before both the Houses of Parliament a statement of the estimated receipts and expenditure of the Government of India for that year, called the annual financial statement.

Three words worth noticing. "Every financial year": it is annual and compulsory. "Both the Houses": the statement is laid before the Council of States too, even though the Demands go only to the House of the People, chapter 1330. And "estimated receipts and expenditure": it is an estimate, which is why chapter 1340's supplementary and excess grants exist.

112(2): the two divisions. The estimates of expenditure shall show separately:

(a) the sums required to meet expenditure charged upon the Consolidated Fund of India; and (b) the sums required to meet other expenditure proposed to be made from that Fund;

and shall distinguish expenditure on revenue account from other expenditure.

Two different distinctions in one clause, and students merge them. The first is charged against votable, which decides who may vote. The second is revenue account against other, which is an accounting classification distinguishing recurring expenditure from capital.

The charged list, and what it is a list of

Article 112(3) enumerates the expenditure charged on the Consolidated Fund of India:

(a) the emoluments and allowances of the President and other expenditure relating to his office;

(b) the salaries and allowances of the Chairman and Deputy Chairman of the Council of States and the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the House of the People;