No plans to shift financial year to January-December from 2018: Santosh Kumar Gangwar

The government does not plan to shift the financial year to January-December period from next year, Minister of State for Finance Santosh Kumar Gangwar said.

Discussions to shift the financial year from April-March to January December, however, continue in the Parliament.

For the financial year to start in January, the government will have to present the Union Budget in November, which seems unlikely, the minister told IANS.

According to previous reports, the Centre was planning to change the financial year from 2018 itself, ending the 150-year old tradition. This year, the Centre advanced the union Budget to February 1 from the last week of the month, as was the tradition earlier.

Moneycontrol had earlier reported the government has asked think-tank Niti Aayog to evaluate the pros and cons of the shift in financial year to align it with the international system.

The new financial system, if implemented, will bring in a number of positives for the country. It will align the Budget with many global peers as well as create uniformity in analysis of statistical data.

The new system will also align with the monsoon cycle in thr country, benefitting the agriculture sector. It will also ease working for multinationals who generally have to follow two financial years - one in India and one followed in the country they are registered.

Similarly, foreign subsidiaries of Indian companies too will benefit.

The current financial year system — from April to March — was adopted in 1867 to align India's financial year with that of British. Before that, the financial year was from May 1 to April 30.