Draft Article 252 (Article 271, Constitution of India 1950) was taken up on 5 August 1949 in the Constituent Assembly. It empowered Parliament to levy a surcharge. This Draft Article also carved an exception to the method of distribution of revenue between Union and States laid down in Draft Articles 250 and 251: the surcharge collected would be included as the revenue of the Government of India exclusively.
A Member proposed a minor amendment to change the phrase ‘revenues of India’ to ‘Consolidated Fund of India’.
The Assembly accepted this amendment without any debate.
The Draft Article, as amended, was adopted on 5 August 1949.
In 2016, Article 271 was amended to exclude goods and services tax imposed under Article 246A from the ambit of this Article.