Government Decides to Shift National Fiscal Year to April-March Cycle

The government has officially decided to alter the timeline of the country's national fiscal year, moving away from the long-standing traditional period. Under the newly approved plan, the national fiscal year will transition from the current July-June timeframe to a completely new April-March cycle.

This major policy shift was finalized and approved during the 17th cabinet meeting of the government. The high-level administrative meeting took place on August 17 at the Secretariat, located in Dhaka, bringing together key policymakers and relevant administrative bodies.

To implement this transition smoothly, a specific timeline has been chalked out for the upcoming fiscal periods. The administration has designated the upcoming 2027-28 fiscal period as a specialized nine-month transitional fiscal year, which will run specifically from the month of July through March.

Following the completion of this designated transitional phase, the permanent structural change will take effect. Starting officially from the 2028-29 fiscal period, the April-March timeframe will be fully operationalized and enforced as the country's new official financial year.

For context, the current financial system in Bangladesh operates on a different schedule altogether. At present, the country's fiscal year is calculated and maintained strictly from the 1st of July to the 30th of June, a practice that will now be permanently phased out in favor of the new April-March schedule.