In order to understand the true essence of the existing federal structure in India, it is very much required that there should be a proper understanding of the events and circumstance which led to its progressive evolution. Thus, while considering this aspect, the present paper is focused on the analysis of evolution of federal financial relations during British rule in India. The paper has been categorised into six phases: the first phase covers the introductory part, the second phase covers the analysis of the cementing of theoretical base for decentralisation (1860-1871), the third phase provides the informal progress to the ongoing process of decentralisation (1871-1920), the fourth phase evaluates the formalisation of decentralisation (1920-1937), the fifth phase analyse the Centre-Provincial relations under the formal Federal structure (1937-1947), and the last phase provides discussion on Federal financial relations in the transition phase (1947-1950).