Constitutional Bodies: CAG, Election Commission & Finance Commission

📚 This topic overlaps across exams — read our in-depth, shared write-up: Constitutional and Statutory Bodies →

🔍 CAG & Election Commission

The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG, Art 148) audits all receipts and expenditure of the Union and states, and is often called the 'guardian of the public purse.' The Election Commission (Art 324) conducts elections to Parliament, state legislatures, and the offices of President and Vice-President, and enforces the Model Code of Conduct.

💰 Finance Commission & GST Council

The Finance Commission (Art 280) is constituted every 5 years to recommend the distribution of tax revenues between the Union and states (vertical devolution) and among states (horizontal devolution) — the 16th Finance Commission is the one currently relevant. The GST Council (Art 279A), chaired by the Union Finance Minister with state finance ministers as members, decides GST rates and rules by a weighted voting formula.

🤝 Inter-State Council

The Inter-State Council (Art 263) is a recommendatory body to discuss and coordinate policy between the Union and states, and among states themselves — distinct from the GST Council's narrower tax-focused mandate.

💡 Key Facts

CAG (Art 148) — audits Union & state accounts; Election Commission (Art 324) — conducts elections.
Finance Commission (Art 280) — every 5 years, recommends tax-sharing formula.
GST Council (Art 279A) and Inter-State Council (Art 263) are federal coordination bodies.

🔖 60-Second Revision

CAG (Art 148) — audit; EC (Art 324) — elections.
Finance Commission (Art 280, every 5 yrs) — tax devolution.
GST Council (279A) — tax rates; Inter-State Council (263) — general coordination.