Duties levied by the Union but collected and appropriated by the States
Quick Summary (TL;DR)
Article 268 (Duties levied by the Union but collected and appropriated by the States): Regulates taxation authority, public funds, revenue sharing, contracts, and property rights under Part XII.
In Simple Citizen Words
Article 268 ('Duties levied by the Union but collected and appropriated by the States') in Part XII (Finance, Property, Contracts and Suits) regulates public money and property. It covers constitutional rules on valid taxation (Art 265), Consolidated and Contingency Funds (Arts 266–267), GST & tax devolution between Union and States (Arts 268–281), government borrowing and contracts (Arts 292–299), liability of the State to be sued by citizens (Art 300), and the constitutional Right to Property (Art 300A). Specifically: (1) Such stamp duties and such duties of excise on medicinal and toilet preparations as are mentioned in the Union List shall be levied by the Government of India but shall be collected,— (a) in the case where such duties are leviable...
Key Constitutional Provisions
Constitutional Mandate (Art. 268): Directly codifies the legal rule for 'Duties levied by the Union but collected and appropriated by the States' under Part XII
Structured across 2 clause(s) and 2 sub-clause(s) with clear procedural conditions
Any administrative or legislative action violating Article 268 can be challenged before the High Court (Art. 226) or Supreme Court
Exceptions & Reasonable Restrictions
Under Article 265, no tax or fee can be levied or collected by executive order without an enacted law, and no money can be withdrawn from the Consolidated Fund without Parliamentary/Legislative appropriation.
Why This Matters in Daily Life
Protects citizens against arbitrary tax demands and illegal property seizure while enforcing strict fiscal discipline on governments.
Want deeper legal & historical context? Explore the official Bare Act or Supreme Court Precedents & CAD Debates: