New Delhi: Should India have a new financial year, replacing the existing one which runs between April-March? The Centre on Wednesday set up a committee under former CEA Shankar Acharya to find answer for this question.
In India, the new financial year starts from April 1 till March 31. For example, the current financial year is from April 1, 2016 to March 31, 2017. While the Union Budget is presented on the last day of the February, its proposals commence from April 1. Any change in the financial year will change the way governments and companies have been doing their business.
The committee, which will submit its report by December, will examine merits and demerits of various dates for commencement of a financial year, including the existing one.
The committee will have to provide reasoning for the suitability of the financial year from the point of view of correct estimation of receipts and expenditure of central and state governments. It will have to state its effect on the different agricultural crop periods and the relationship of financial year to the working season. Besides, it will also have to analyse its impact on businesses, taxation systems and procedures, statistics and data collection.
