Published : 19 Aug 2026, 07:21 AM
Updated : 08 Sep 2026, 09:34 AM
Calendar Shift, Structural Drift
Monsoon timing: Moving the year-end away from June avoids heavy rains disrupting infrastructure project quality
Statistical overhaul required: Decades of historical GDP, tax, and economic data must be recalibrated to maintain comparability
Structural delays remain unaddressed: Economists warn the calendar shift will not fix chronic bureaucratic red tape or cost overruns
Transition timeline set: A nine-month transitional period in 2027-28 will pave the way for full adoption in 2028-29
Corporate compliance shift: Businesses face one-off costs to alter ERP systems and align tax reporting with the new cycle
For decades, Bangladesh has run its economic life to a July-June rhythm. Now, the government is preparing to turn the calendar back a few months -- to April-March -- in a move that could reshape everything from public spending and development projects to tax returns and economic statistics.
The reasoning is straightforward: June marks the end of the current fiscal year just as the monsoon begins to gather pace. Roads, bridges and other infrastructure projects are then rushed towards completion, often amid heavy rain, disrupting work, lowering quality and causing public suffering.
The government believes an April-March fiscal year would allow major construction work to be completed before the rains arrive.
But changing a fiscal calendar is far more than moving two dates on a page.
It means rebuilding the framework through which Bangladesh measures its economy -- from gross domestic product and inflation to the annual development programme, revenue collection, remittances, investment, borrowing and debt repayment, and the profits and losses of state-owned enterprises.
The larger question is whether changing the calendar will solve the problems it is intended to address.
Economists broadly see merit in aligning the fiscal year with Bangladesh's seasons. But they say the move will not, by itself, cure the bureaucratic delays, land acquisition problems, tendering complications and cost overruns that often keep development projects running for years.
Mustafa K Mujeri, former director general of the Bangladesh Institute of Development Studies (BIDS), said the change could bring “some benefit” by taking the monsoon into account.
But the larger task, he said, would be making decades of economic data compatible with the new calendar.
“If we have to maintain the comparability of our data, then all the previous data we have, the overall data, starting from GDP, starting from exports and imports, all the data will have to be made consistent with the new fiscal year.
“Because when you do research or compare or make any growth projections, then the current data will not match that data, will it?”
That exercise, Mujeri said, would be both “time-consuming” and “costly”.
A Better Season, but Not Necessarily Better Projects
Wahiduddin Mahmud, the former planning advisor to the interim government, also described the decision as positive, but cautioned against treating it as a cure for the country's chronic project delays.
“There has been thinking about this for quite some time. And there is a good argument behind it. That is, if you look at the spending on our annual development projects, it is seen that spending becomes higher towards the very end of the year.
“It is very low in the first and second quarters. Around 10 percent, 15 percent of total spending. Everything piles up towards the end. The argument here is, what I think is a ‘good decision’, that so much rain starts towards the end, in the final quarter. During the monsoon, for roads and construction projects, LGED projects, money is actually spent then, but the quality of construction is not good.”
But Wahiduddin said the seasonal problem was only part of the story.
“However, I think the real problem with project implementation is why project deadlines have to be extended year after year and why costs have to increase. That does not end in the final quarter of the year. Rather, it continues year after year, and many monsoons pass. So this does not solve the problem of prolonged project implementation.”
Much of that delay is bureaucratic.
New projects and revisions to existing projects receive fresh allocations through the annual budget, while new schemes also require land acquisition, tendering and contractor selection.
“Whether it is a new project or revising the timeframe or increasing the cost of a project, new allocations are made in the fiscal year's budget. Even for ongoing projects. So this allocation process has to be done bureaucratically.
“If it is a new project, there are many more complications. For example, land acquisition, then contractors, tenders, contractors -- time passes while doing all this.”
Wahiduddin therefore sees the reform as useful, but limited.
“However, it is a positive step. There will be some benefit.”
Government data bears out the pattern of a year-end spending rush. In fiscal 2025-26, only 21 percent of the allocation had been spent in the first seven months, according to February figures. By the end of the year, 67.52 percent of the revised annual development programme had been implemented -- the lowest rate in Bangladesh's history.
Mujeri sees another potential advantage in the agricultural calendar.
“If it is from April to March, then one thing happens: in terms of our monsoon season, there is an advantage in the crop cycle because generally during this period the two biggest crops, Aman and Boro, are involved. So the government's development thinking can include these two major crops, Aman and Boro.
“This is done for agricultural benefits -- India also has this.”
He also pointed to the possibility of reducing the year-end rush.
“At the beginning of the monsoon, field-level activities are naturally disrupted to some extent in development projects in our country.
“…Again, there is a tendency to rush and finish projects in June. So that the ministries can quickly draw down the ADP implementation funds towards the end. As a result, the work is not done properly because of the haste, and in many cases waste or corruption also increases. So in that respect, there may be some benefit.”
The Hidden Bill: Rewriting Bangladesh's Economic History
The biggest challenge may lie not on construction sites but in spreadsheets, databases and statistical records.
Bangladesh has collected and organised most of its economic information around the July-June cycle since independence. Switching to April-March means recalibrating decades of historical economic data.
“Our data collection is done on a July-June basis. It has been that way in the past, since independence or even before independence.
“So this kind of difficulty will arise, and considerable effort will be needed to overcome it. Because even our imports and exports, remittances, everything… inflation, everything will then have to be redefined for that period.
“It is a big task. So this risk will remain.”
Without recalibrating the old data, meaningful comparisons would become difficult, Mujeri said.
“But then you cannot compare. You will do research, you will compare -- then you cannot do it, can you?”
He compared the task to changing the base year used for calculating GDP or inflation.
“If the base year changes, you have to bring the previous figures to the same base year; otherwise you cannot compare them. The comparison is not possible in the proper sense because when the base year changes, many weights change, many things change, don't they?
“So for your research, comparison, and to see what is happening now compared with the past, whether things are improving or worsening, you have to do this. Today or tomorrow. So that too will have to be a huge exercise.”
A Calendar Shaped by History
Fiscal years around the world reflect history, politics, economics, climate and even business cycles.
Pakistan moved to a July-June fiscal year in the 1950s, a system Bangladesh retained after independence. India, however, maintained the April-March cycle, rooted in the region's historical and agricultural traditions.
The tradition dates back to the Mughal emperor Akbar, when the Bengali New Year was introduced and revenue collection was organised around the agricultural cycle.
Globally, fiscal years vary widely. Many European, Latin American and Southeast Asian countries use January-December. Countries including India, Canada, Singapore, South Africa and the United Kingdom use April-March. Australia, Pakistan and New Zealand use July-June, while the United States uses October-September.
Iran and Afghanistan follow a calendar based on the Persian New Year, running from Mar 21 to Mar 20.
The BNP government began revisiting Bangladesh's historical April-March cycle after taking office. The cabinet approved the change on Monday.
The new system will take full effect from fiscal 2028-29. Before that, fiscal 2027-28 will be a nine-month transition period, running from July 2027 to March 2028.
A high-level committee involving the Cabinet Division, Bangladesh Bank, the National Board of Revenue, the Finance Division and the Legislative Division will oversee the transition.
The Constitution and the General Clauses Act, 1897, will require amendments, while financial management software and related technology will also have to be redesigned.
Businesses Face Their Own Adjustment
The change will also reach beyond government accounts.
The tax year will shift with the fiscal year, requiring businesses to adapt accounting systems, tax calculations and corporate reporting. For individual taxpayers, the adjustment may be relatively manageable. For companies, the transition could be considerably more complicated.
Snehasish Barua, director of SMAC Advisory Services, said:
“For this, nine-month interim accounts will have to be prepared for fiscal 2027-28, ERP systems will have to be changed and advance tax instalments adjusted. This will increase companies' one-off costs. In addition, the audit, AGM and bank loan renewal seasons will also shift.”
Yet the change could actually simplify matters for regional and multinational companies that already maintain accounts through March.
Rupali Haque Chowdhury, president of the Foreign Investors' Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said many multinational companies operating in Bangladesh already keep accounts on a January-December basis but separately prepare July-June accounts for tax purposes.
“Any country can create its own fiscal year. Then what will companies do? They will incur an extra cost and prepare their business accounts in a new way for tax purposes.
“Even now, those following January-December have to separately arrange their accounts up to July-June for tax submission. So instead of July-June, they will do April-March. What is so difficult about that?”
For Bangladesh, then, the new fiscal year is both a seasonal gamble and a statistical undertaking: a chance to bring public spending into better alignment with the country's weather, but also a costly exercise in rewriting how the economy is measured.
The calendar will change in 2028. The harder question is whether the habits that have made projects late, expensive and rushed will change with it.
