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PART XII FINANCE, PROPERTY, CONTRACTS AND SUITS · CHAPTER I.— FINANCE · General

Article 280: Finance Commission

The Constitution of India

(1) The President shall, within two years from the commencement of this Constitution and thereafter at the expiration of every fifth year or at such earlier time as the President considers necessary, by order constitute a Finance Commission which shall consist of a Chairman and four other members to be appointed by the President.

(2) Parliament may by law determine the qualifications which shall be requisite for appointment as members of the Commission and the manner in which they shall be selected.

(3) It shall be the duty of the Commission to make recommendations to the President as to—

(a) the distribution between the Union and the States of the net proceeds of taxes which are to be, or may be, divided between them under this Chapter and the allocation between the States of the respective shares of such proceeds;

(b) the principles which should govern the grants-in-aid of the revenues of the States out of the Consolidated Fund of India;

1[(bb) the measures needed to augment the Consolidated Fund of a State to supplement the resources of the Panchayats in the State on the basis of the recommendations made by the Finance Commission of the State;]

2[(c) the measures needed to augment the Consolidated Fund of a State to supplement the resources of the Municipalities in the State on the basis of the recommendations made by the Finance Commission of the State;]

3[(d)] any other matter referred to the Commission by the President in the interests of sound finance. (4) The Commission shall determine their procedure and shall have such powers in the performance of their functions as Parliament may by law confer on them.

Footnotes in the official text

  1. 1.Ins. by the Constitution (Seventy-third Amendment) Act, 1992, s. 3 (w.e.f. 24-4-1993).
  2. 2.Ins. by the Constitution (Seventy-fourth Amendment) Act, 1992, s. 3 (w.e.f. 1-6-1993).
  3. 3.Sub-clause (c) re-lettered as sub-clause (d) by s. 3, ibid. (w.e.f. 1-6-1993).

Questions on this article

11 questions in 25 of our papers cite Article 280. Try these from the free papers:

  1. 1. Consider the following statements about Article 280(3): 1. The Finance Commission recommends the measures needed to augment the Consolidated Fund of a State to supplement the resources of the Panchayats, on the basis of the recommendations of the State Finance Commission. 2. This duty was added by the Constitution (Seventy-third Amendment) Act, 1992. 3. The Finance Commission makes its recommendations about the resources of Municipalities to the Governor of the State concerned. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  2. 2. Consider the following statements about the Finance Commission: 1. It recommends the distribution between the Union and the States of the net proceeds of divisible taxes. 2. It recommends the principles governing grants-in-aid to the States out of the Consolidated Fund of India. 3. Parliament may by law determine the qualifications for appointment as its members. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  3. 3. Under Article 280(3)(bb), the Finance Commission makes recommendations to the President as to:

Practise questions on Constitutional Law