Term for fiscal year changed

The government has changed the duration of the existing fiscal year. According to the new decision, the fiscal year has been set from April 1 to March 31. Until now, the fiscal year in the country was calculated from July 1 to June 30.

This decision was made at a Cabinet meeting on Monday held at the Secretariat and chaired by Prime Minister Tarique Rahman.

Later, in a press release, the Cabinet Division stated that in Bangladesh, the fiscal year is calculated from July 1 to June 30. As a result, infrastructure development activities remain ongoing during July-August, i.e., the rainy season. Consequently, due to the rains, work gets prolonged on one hand, and the quality of work also suffers on the other. Additionally, it causes widespread public suffering. If the April–March period is used as the fiscal year, infrastructure development activities can be completed before the monsoon. For this reason, setting the fiscal year from April 1 to March 31 is considered reasonable.

The press release further stated that a committee comprising the Cabinet Division, Bangladesh Bank, the National Board of Revenue, the Legislative Division, the Finance Division, and other relevant stakeholders will determine the course of action in this regard. In this case, necessary amendments will have to be made to the Constitution of Bangladesh and the General Clauses Act, 1897. Additionally, technical changes will need to be made to various systems involved in the government's financial management due to the change in the fiscal year.

It also said that the upcoming 2027-28 fiscal year will be considered a transitional fiscal year, concluding the fiscal year in 9 months (July-March), and thereafter, starting from the 2028-29 fiscal year, all government activities will be conducted according to the new fiscal year (April-March).