The government has decided to change Bangladesh’s fiscal year from the existing July-June period to April-March, aiming to complete infrastructure development activities before the monsoon and improve the quality of development works.
The decision was taken at the 17th Cabinet meeting today following a proposal from the Finance Division. Prime Minister Tarique Rahman chaired the meeting at the Cabinet Division conference room in the Bangladesh Secretariat here.
According to the proposal, currently, Bangladesh’s fiscal year runs from July 1 to June 30. As a result, infrastructure development activities continue during July and August, the peak monsoon period, causing delays, affecting the quality of work and creating widespread public suffering.
Adopting April-March as the fiscal year would make it possible to complete infrastructure development activities before the onset of the monsoon. Therefore, setting the fiscal year from April 1 to March 31 was considered appropriate.
A committee comprising representatives from the Cabinet Division, Bangladesh Bank, National Board of Revenue (NBR), Legislative Division, Finance Division and other relevant stakeholders will determine the next course of action regarding the transition.
Necessary amendments will have to be made to the Constitution of Bangladesh and the General Clauses Act, 1897, as part of the process.
Technological changes will also be required in various systems involved in the government’s financial management to accommodate the change in the fiscal year.
The government has decided to treat fiscal year 2027-28 as the transitional fiscal year and complete it within nine months (July-March). All government activities will subsequently begin according to the new April-March fiscal year from fiscal year 2028-29.
