Generally, the Finance Bill makes amendments to existing rules and laws regarding taxes, government expenditure, financial policy, etc. As a result, laws suc...
The Annual Financial Statement is a document presented to Parliament every financial year as part of the Budget process, as required under Article 112 of the...
Under Article 114(3) of the Constitution, no amount can be withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund without the enactment of such a law by Parliament. After the ...
The balance of payments (BoP) records all economic transactions in goods, services, and assets of the country with the rest of the world for a specified time...
Every year, the Budget is presented before Parliament by the Union finance minister. During the speech, the funds allocated for various jobs and activities a...
Capital Budget consists of capital receipts (like disinvestment, borrowing, loans from public or foreign governments, Reserve Bank of India, etc) and capital...
Capital expenditure is the money spent by the government on the development of machinery, equipment, building, health facilities, education, etc. It also inc...
The Union Budget, which is presented by the Finance Minister of India, comprises Capital Budget and Revenue Budget. The Capital Budget is further categorised...
Central plan of the Union Budget is also called the annual plan. The five-year Plan is split into five annual parts and the government hopes to achieve the o...
Central welfare schemes, implemented by the government to provide financial and other aids to individuals who cannot support themselves, can be categorised i...
A cess is a form of tax levied by the government on tax with specific purposes till the time the government gets enough money for that purpose. Different fro...
When we talk about the rate of inflation, it often refers to the rate of inflation based on the consumer price index (CPI). The CPI tracks the change in reta...
As the name suggests, the Contingency Fund of India is the emergency fund for the nation. Constituted under Article 267(1) of the Indian Constitution, the Co...
Countervailing duty (CVD) is a specific form of duty that the government imposes in order to protect domestic producers by countering the negative impact of ...
Current Account Deficit (CAD) is the shortfall between the money received by selling products to other countries and the money spent to buy goods and service...
Customs duty refers to the tax imposed on goods when they are transported across international borders. In simple terms, it is the tax that is levied on impo...
A cut motion is a special power vested in members of the Lok Sabha to oppose a demand being discussed for specific allocation by the government in the Financ...
Article 113 of the Constitution mandates that the estimates of expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of India included in the Annual Financial Statement and...
As the name suggests, direct taxes are those that are levied directly on taxpayers — the income-tax, wealth tax, corporation tax, etc. In other words, ...
Divestment or disinvestment means selling a stake in a company, subsidiary or other investments. Businesses and governments resort to divestment generally as...
The Economic Survey brings out the economic trends in the country and facilitates a better appreciation of the mobilisation of resources and their allocation...
Excess grant is the money given to the government when the already allocated money for expenditure for that year does not turn out to be enough and extra mon...
Excise duty is a form of tax imposed on goods for their production, licensing and sale. An indirect tax paid to the Government of India by producers of goods...
The Expenditure Budget of the government highlights the allotment of funds for disbursement to different ministries, sectors, departments in a financial ...
Expenditure profile is a full compilation of information from all ministries and departments to analyse the Union government’s financial performance. I...
When a piece of legislation is yet to be passed as a law by the Houses of Parliament, it is termed a Bill. A Finance Bill is a Bill that, as the name suggests, ...
Financial inclusion is a method of offering banking and financial services to individuals. It aims to include everybody in society by giving them basic finan...
The Fiscal Policy Strategy Statement, presented to Parliament under Section 3(4) of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act, 2003, outline...
Fringe benefit tax (FBT) was a form of tax that companies paid in lieu of benefits they offered their employees in addition to the compensation paid to them....
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) is a uniform indirect tax levied on goods and services across the country. GST, as an umbrella tax, replaced central taxes l...
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the final monetary value of the goods and services produced within the country during a specified period of time, normally a ...
Gross National Product (GNP) is the total value of all finished goods and services produced by a country’s citizens in a given financial year, irrespec...
Income tax is a direct tax that a government levies on the income of its citizens. The Income Tax Act, 1961, mandates that the central government collect thi...
An indirect tax is one that is not paid directly by a person to the government but collected by an intermediary and passed on to the government. Indirect tax...
Inflation can be defined as a persistent rise in the general price of goods and services of common or daily use — such as clothing, food, fuel, transpo...
An Interim Budget is presented by a government that is going through a transition period or is in its last year in office ahead of general elections. Traditiona...
Capital gains mean the profit earned by an individual on the sale of his investment in assets such as stocks, real estate, bonds, commodities, etc. Basically...
Every year, a macro-economic framework statement is presented before Parliament at the time of Union Budget presentation. This is under Section 3(5) of the F...
The medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF) statement sets a three-year rolling target for expenditure indicators, along with specifications of underpinning...
The Medium-term Fiscal Policy Statement, presented to Parliament under Section 3(2) of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act, 2003, sets...
The Finance Bill is a Money Bill according to the definition in Article 110 of the Indian Constitution. The Finance Bill contains tax proposals of the govern...
Companies can reduce their tax liability through various provisions of the Income-Tax Act, such as exemptions, deductions, depreciation, etc. There have been...
Monetised deficit is the monetary support the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) extends to the Centre as part of the government's borrowing programme. In other...
Taxes and duties levied by the government form the biggest source of its income or receipts. The government spends this money on both operational and develop...
Other than taxation being a primary source of income, the government also earns a recurring income, which is called non-tax revenue. While sources of tax rev...
An outcome budget aims to look at the performance of various ministries handling development programmes. It also looks at the expenses incurred by them.
...
Plan expenditure forms a sizeable proportion of the total expenditure of the central government. The Demands for Grants of the various ministries show the Pl...
Primary deficit refers to the difference between the current year's fiscal deficit and interest payment on previous borrowings. It indicates the borrowin...
Public debt is the total amount, including total liabilities, borrowed by the government to meet its development budget. It has to be paid from the Consolida...
A Receipts Budget is one the most important documents in a Union Budget. It is an extensive list of income generated from different sources by the government...
Government revenue refers to all the income of the government from taxes and non-tax sources. These funds are used for government expenditure. Government rev...
The revenue budget consists of revenue receipts of the Government of India and the expenditure met using that revenue. The revenue budget details the sources...
There can be different forms of deficit in a Budget depending on the type of receipt and expenditure taken into account. Revenue deficit is that which occurs...
Those expenditures of the government that do not lead to the creation of fixed assets are called revenue expenditures. The government spends money under vari...
Revenue receipts can be defined as those receipts which neither create any liability nor cause any reduction in the assets of the government. They are regula...
Securities transaction tax (STT) is a tax levied at the time of purchase and sale of securities listed on stock exchanges in India. STT is governed by the Se...
Service tax was an indirect tax levied by the government on services offered by service providers. Introduced under Section 65 of the Finance Act, 1994, serv...
A sin tax is imposed on goods and services, which are perceived as harmful to society. Examples of products on which sin tax is imposed are: tobacco, gamblin...
The word subvention means a grant of money or aid mostly paid by the government. Subvention and subvention schemes usually find a mention in advertisements p...
Taxation is the primary source of income for the government. The most important revenue receipts for the government, taxes are involuntary fees levied on ind...
When the government goes to the financial market to raise money, it does so by issuing two types of debt instruments — treasury bills and government bo...
Value-added tax (VAT) is a type of indirect tax levied on goods and services for value added at every point of production or distribution cycle, starting fro...
Wealth tax was a charge levied on the total or market value of personal assets. Also known as capital tax or equity tax, wealth tax was imposed on the richer...
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) gives temporary loan facilities to the central and state governments. This loan facility is called Ways and Means Advances (W...
The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) reflects changes in the average prices of goods at the wholesale level — that is, commodities sold in bulk and traded b...
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Acts regulated by the Finance Bill
Generally, the Finance Bill makes amendments to existing rules and laws regarding taxes, government expenditure, financial policy, etc. As a result, laws suc...
Read More
Annual Financial Statement
The Annual Financial Statement is a document presented to Parliament every financial year as part of the Budget process, as required under Article 112 of the...
Read More
Appropriation Bill
Under Article 114(3) of the Constitution, no amount can be withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund without the enactment of such a law by Parliament. After the ...
Read More
Banking cash transaction tax (BCTT)
The banking cash transaction tax (BCTT) is a type of direct tax levied on withdrawal of cash more than a specified limit from bank. It was first l...
Read More
Balance of payments (BoP)
The balance of payments (BoP) records all economic transactions in goods, services, and assets of the country with the rest of the world for a specified time...
Read More
Budget cycle
The Budget cycle comprises steps beginning in the run-up to the Budget and culminates into its presentation. The preparation of the Budget inv...
Read More
Budget estimates
Every year, the Budget is presented before Parliament by the Union finance minister. During the speech, the funds allocated for various jobs and activities a...
Read More
Budget Speech
The Budget speech, delivered by the Union Finance Minister in Parliament, has two sections — parts A and B. Part A of the budget speech ...
Read More
Capital Budget
Capital Budget consists of capital receipts (like disinvestment, borrowing, loans from public or foreign governments, Reserve Bank of India, etc) and capital...
Read More
Capital Expenditure
Capital expenditure is the money spent by the government on the development of machinery, equipment, building, health facilities, education, etc. It also inc...
Read More
Capital Receipts
The Union Budget, which is presented by the Finance Minister of India, comprises Capital Budget and Revenue Budget. The Capital Budget is further categorised...
Read More
Central Plan
Central plan of the Union Budget is also called the annual plan. The five-year Plan is split into five annual parts and the government hopes to achieve the o...
Read More
Centrally sponsored schemes
Central welfare schemes, implemented by the government to provide financial and other aids to individuals who cannot support themselves, can be categorised i...
Read More
Cess
A cess is a form of tax levied by the government on tax with specific purposes till the time the government gets enough money for that purpose. Different fro...
Read More
CPI-based Inflation
When we talk about the rate of inflation, it often refers to the rate of inflation based on the consumer price index (CPI). The CPI tracks the change in reta...
Read More
Consolidated Fund of India
Among the several government accounts, the Consolidated Fund of India is the most crucial. Constituted under Article 266(1) of the Indian Constitu...
Read More
Contingency Fund of India
As the name suggests, the Contingency Fund of India is the emergency fund for the nation. Constituted under Article 267(1) of the Indian Constitution, the Co...
Read More
Countervailing Duty
Countervailing duty (CVD) is a specific form of duty that the government imposes in order to protect domestic producers by countering the negative impact of ...
Read More
Current Account Deficit (CAD)
Current Account Deficit (CAD) is the shortfall between the money received by selling products to other countries and the money spent to buy goods and service...
Read More
Customs duty
Customs duty refers to the tax imposed on goods when they are transported across international borders. In simple terms, it is the tax that is levied on impo...
Read More
Cut Motion
A cut motion is a special power vested in members of the Lok Sabha to oppose a demand being discussed for specific allocation by the government in the Financ...
Read More
Demand for Grants
Article 113 of the Constitution mandates that the estimates of expenditure from the Consolidated Fund of India included in the Annual Financial Statement and...
Read More
Direct Tax
As the name suggests, direct taxes are those that are levied directly on taxpayers — the income-tax, wealth tax, corporation tax, etc. In other words, ...
Read More
Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT)
Dividend Distribution Tax (DDT) is a tax levied on dividends distributed by companies out of their profits among their shareholders. The Divid...
Read More
Divestment or disinvestment
Divestment or disinvestment means selling a stake in a company, subsidiary or other investments. Businesses and governments resort to divestment generally as...
Read More
Economic Survey
The Economic Survey brings out the economic trends in the country and facilitates a better appreciation of the mobilisation of resources and their allocation...
Read More
Excess grant
Excess grant is the money given to the government when the already allocated money for expenditure for that year does not turn out to be enough and extra mon...
Read More
Excise Duty
Excise duty is a form of tax imposed on goods for their production, licensing and sale. An indirect tax paid to the Government of India by producers of goods...
Read More
Expenditure Budget
The Expenditure Budget of the government highlights the allotment of funds for disbursement to different ministries, sectors, departments in a financial ...
Read More
Expenditure profile
Expenditure profile is a full compilation of information from all ministries and departments to analyse the Union government’s financial performance. I...
Read More
Finance Bill
When a piece of legislation is yet to be passed as a law by the Houses of Parliament, it is termed a Bill. A Finance Bill is a Bill that, as the name suggests, ...
Read More
Financial Inclusion
Financial inclusion is a method of offering banking and financial services to individuals. It aims to include everybody in society by giving them basic finan...
Read More
Fiscal Deficit
A country’s fiscal balance is measured by its government’s revenue vis-a-vis its expenditure in a given financial year. Fiscal deficit, the condi...
Read More
Fiscal Policy
Fiscal policy, in simple terms, is an estimate of taxation and government spending that impacts the economy. Types of fiscal policy ...
Read More
Fiscal Policy Strategy Statement
The Fiscal Policy Strategy Statement, presented to Parliament under Section 3(4) of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act, 2003, outline...
Read More
FRBM Act
The Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management Act (FRBM Act), 2003, establishes financial discipline to reduce fiscal deficit. When was the ...
Read More
Fringe Benefit Tax (FBT)
Fringe benefit tax (FBT) was a form of tax that companies paid in lieu of benefits they offered their employees in addition to the compensation paid to them....
Read More
Goods and Services Tax
The Goods and Services Tax (GST) is a uniform indirect tax levied on goods and services across the country. GST, as an umbrella tax, replaced central taxes l...
Read More
Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) is the final monetary value of the goods and services produced within the country during a specified period of time, normally a ...
Read More
Gross National Product (GNP)
Gross National Product (GNP) is the total value of all finished goods and services produced by a country’s citizens in a given financial year, irrespec...
Read More
Income tax
Income tax is a direct tax that a government levies on the income of its citizens. The Income Tax Act, 1961, mandates that the central government collect thi...
Read More
Indirect Tax
An indirect tax is one that is not paid directly by a person to the government but collected by an intermediary and passed on to the government. Indirect tax...
Read More
Inflation
Inflation can be defined as a persistent rise in the general price of goods and services of common or daily use — such as clothing, food, fuel, transpo...
Read More
Interim Budget
An Interim Budget is presented by a government that is going through a transition period or is in its last year in office ahead of general elections. Traditiona...
Read More
Long-term capital gains tax, or LTCG
Capital gains mean the profit earned by an individual on the sale of his investment in assets such as stocks, real estate, bonds, commodities, etc. Basically...
Read More
Macro-economic framework statement
Every year, a macro-economic framework statement is presented before Parliament at the time of Union Budget presentation. This is under Section 3(5) of the F...
Read More
Medium-term expenditure framework statement
The medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF) statement sets a three-year rolling target for expenditure indicators, along with specifications of underpinning...
Read More
Medium-term Fiscal Policy Statement
The Medium-term Fiscal Policy Statement, presented to Parliament under Section 3(2) of the Fiscal Responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) Act, 2003, sets...
Read More
Memorandum Explaining the Provisions in the Finance Bill
The Finance Bill is a Money Bill according to the definition in Article 110 of the Indian Constitution. The Finance Bill contains tax proposals of the govern...
Read More
Minimum Alternate Tax (MAT)
Companies can reduce their tax liability through various provisions of the Income-Tax Act, such as exemptions, deductions, depreciation, etc. There have been...
Read More
Monetised Deficit
Monetised deficit is the monetary support the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) extends to the Centre as part of the government's borrowing programme. In other...
Read More
Non-debt capital receipts (NDCR)
Taxes and duties levied by the government form the biggest source of its income or receipts. The government spends this money on both operational and develop...
Read More
Non-Plan Expenditure
The government's total spending can be divided into two broad sub-heads — plan and non-plan — with the latter constituting the bulk of expend...
Read More
Non-Tax Revenue
Other than taxation being a primary source of income, the government also earns a recurring income, which is called non-tax revenue. While sources of tax rev...
Read More
Outcome Budget
An outcome budget aims to look at the performance of various ministries handling development programmes. It also looks at the expenses incurred by them. ...
Read More
Pass-through status
A pass-through status is a business structure that takes away the obligation to pay corporation tax. An entity usually pays tax twice — ...
Read More
Plan Expenditure
The government's expenditure can be divided into two parts — plan and non-plan. Plan expenditure is that component of government expenses which hel...
Read More
Plan outlay
Plan expenditure forms a sizeable proportion of the total expenditure of the central government. The Demands for Grants of the various ministries show the Pl...
Read More
Primary Deficit
Primary deficit refers to the difference between the current year's fiscal deficit and interest payment on previous borrowings. It indicates the borrowin...
Read More
Public Account
Article 266 of the Constitution defines the Public Account as being those funds that are received on behalf of the Government of India. ...
Read More
Public debt
Public debt is the total amount, including total liabilities, borrowed by the government to meet its development budget. It has to be paid from the Consolida...
Read More
Receipts budget
A Receipts Budget is one the most important documents in a Union Budget. It is an extensive list of income generated from different sources by the government...
Read More
Revenue
Government revenue refers to all the income of the government from taxes and non-tax sources. These funds are used for government expenditure. Government rev...
Read More
Revenue Budget
The revenue budget consists of revenue receipts of the Government of India and the expenditure met using that revenue. The revenue budget details the sources...
Read More
Revenue Deficit
There can be different forms of deficit in a Budget depending on the type of receipt and expenditure taken into account. Revenue deficit is that which occurs...
Read More
Revenue expenditure of the government
Those expenditures of the government that do not lead to the creation of fixed assets are called revenue expenditures. The government spends money under vari...
Read More
Revenue Receipts
Revenue receipts can be defined as those receipts which neither create any liability nor cause any reduction in the assets of the government. They are regula...
Read More
Securities Transaction Tax (STT)
Securities transaction tax (STT) is a tax levied at the time of purchase and sale of securities listed on stock exchanges in India. STT is governed by the Se...
Read More
Service Tax
Service tax was an indirect tax levied by the government on services offered by service providers. Introduced under Section 65 of the Finance Act, 1994, serv...
Read More
Short-term capital gains tax (STCG)
Short-term capital gain tax (STCG) is a tax levied on capital gains from the sale of an asset held for a short period. What are capital gains?...
Read More
Sin Tax
A sin tax is imposed on goods and services, which are perceived as harmful to society. Examples of products on which sin tax is imposed are: tobacco, gamblin...
Read More
Subvention schemes
The word subvention means a grant of money or aid mostly paid by the government. Subvention and subvention schemes usually find a mention in advertisements p...
Read More
Surcharge
A surcharge — or additional charge — is essentially a tax levied on a tax. It is calculated on payable tax, not on income generated. So a surchar...
Read More
Tax Revenue
Taxation is the primary source of income for the government. The most important revenue receipts for the government, taxes are involuntary fees levied on ind...
Read More
Treasury Bills
When the government goes to the financial market to raise money, it does so by issuing two types of debt instruments — treasury bills and government bo...
Read More
Value-added tax (VAT)
Value-added tax (VAT) is a type of indirect tax levied on goods and services for value added at every point of production or distribution cycle, starting fro...
Read More
Wealth Tax
Wealth tax was a charge levied on the total or market value of personal assets. Also known as capital tax or equity tax, wealth tax was imposed on the richer...
Read More
Ways and Means Advances
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) gives temporary loan facilities to the central and state governments. This loan facility is called Ways and Means Advances (W...
Read More
WPI-based Inflation
The Wholesale Price Index (WPI) reflects changes in the average prices of goods at the wholesale level — that is, commodities sold in bulk and traded b...
Read More
Zero-based Budget
As the name suggests, zero-based Budget refers to planning and preparing the Budget from scratch or ‘zero base’. It is different from a tradition...
Read More