4 reason why the financial year starts from April

Before 1867, the fiscal year for India ran from May 1 through April 30. This comprehensive article covers almost everything you need to know about an Indian company determining the end of the financial year. For publicly traded corporations and their investors, quarterly earnings reports are critical.

In the many regional calenders like the Hindu calendar etc, the New Year starts in the month of April and this may be a reason why the govt also thought of starting the financial year in the month of April itself. Moreover, the crop season in India also starts in April and ends in March. The necessity of the quarter report system has been questioned by many.

The year immediately after the Financial Year is known as the Assessment Year. For each quarter on or before June 15, September 15 and December 15 for the first three quarters of the tax year and on or before March 15 for the last quarter of the tax year, tax is payable in advance . Any correspondence of tax due on the return must be paid on a self-evaluation basis before filing the return. A tax return will be considered as flawed if the tax liability along with interest is unpaid on or before the date of submission of the tax return. The interest imposed for default in payment of advance tax is computed starting from the first day of the year following the tax year to the date of the assessment order. Both investors and businesses keep track of their financial results using fiscal quarters and company changes across time.

Financial Year 2017 – 2018

The fiscal year is the year during which governments render assessments of the country / state’s revenue and spending. It is the period for which the Government sets its financial and economic objectives and establishes the means to raise funds for the same. The Government introduces the action plan for the current fiscal year typically starting April at the end of the previous fiscal year.

Deductor has to provide the Financial Year, Quarter and Form Type of the statement to view these details. Deductor can view details of all the challans which have been used in any particular statement. In India, the major festivals of Navratri and Diwali take place in October and November, followed by Christmas in December. The value of sales for retailers and value purchases for shoppers are higher at these times. In the midst of these enormous demands, they may find it difficult to conduct end-of-year accounting. India is mainly an agricultural country as two-thirds of its population primarily depends on agriculture.

When it comes to quarterly dividends, the ex-date can cause considerable fluctuation in a stock price. Quarterly earnings announcements usually include forward-looking “guidelines” about what management expects over the next few quarters or through the end of the year. Investors and analysts used these forecasts to evaluate performance in the coming quarters.

Manual > Form to Change Profile for Quarterly Return and Monthly Payments (QRMP) Scheme

For the financial year quarter, we want Excel to shift this by three months. April should be the 1st month, December should be the 9th month, and March should be the 12th month of the year. Hence, for the financial year Apr-Mar, dates between Apr-Jun falls in Q1, and dates between Jan-Mar falls in Q4. The IF statement runs this segment when the calendar month is between 1 & 3. If in case the financial year end is other than March, then we can adjust the logical question accordingly.

The 12 months from April 1 to March 31 is widely accepted in India as the fiscal / accounting / financial year. It was acquired in 1867 by the British Government to position India’s financial year with the British Empire’s. Other British colonies, like Hong Kong and Canada, also follow the April-March routine.

They can choose any 12-month window depending on their operations and seasonality patterns. An organisation may also want to keep its fiscal year aligned with the assessment year for ease of reporting and filing income tax returns. A fiscal year denotes the 12-month period of earnings, whereas an assessment year denotes the 12-month period during which income tax returns are filed.

Financial Year being followed across the Globe

In India, the 12 month financial year period starts from 1st April and ends on 31st March. However, this is not the case with all the countries and many countries consider a different period of 12 months for the purpose of computation of financial year. The financial year is usually denoted as F/Y and assessment year is denoted as A/Y.

The 12-month period from April 1 to March 31 is widely accepted as the accounting/fiscal/financial year in India. To report and analyse their earnings, organisations and individuals refer to different calendars and modes. Individuals and companies need to understand the difference between assessment and fiscal years to properly account for their earnings and taxes. It provides a specific timeline to monitor and review the revenues and expenses during that period.

The Securities and Exchanges Board of India mandates every organisation to publish its financial statements. Following a fiscal/financial year helps the organisation comply with SEBI’s requirements. In cases where taxpayers have assets outside India, the existing four and six-year time limits for reopening tax assessments have been increased to 16 years. In situations where an individual is classified as a non-resident employee, the period for providing notice of reassessment is increased from two years to six years. A resident taxpayer with any assets outside of India or a signing authority in any account outside India is required to file a tax return. In the case that a taxpayer wants to amend the paid income return, they will be entitled to do so either up to March 31 of the year following the tax year or until the expiration of the evaluation, whichever is sooner.

Analysts or business managers can easily compare this information to the future or past performance of the same organisation or competitors. A fiscal year is divided into four quarters, where each quarter has a duration of 3 months. Let us take an example to understand what is the current financial year in India, the four quarters it comprises and the time frame around it. Crypto exchange Coinbase posts smaller loss on cost cuts, more revenue sourcesCoinbase reported a smaller-than-expected loss in its Q1 earnings, citing diversification of revenue sources and cost cuts. The exchange also benefitted from onboarding subscription and wallet-as-a-service offerings and its deal with One River Digital Asset Management to boost product offerings.

The starting and ending of this 12-month period may vary across countries, entities, and business cycles. Further, to claim the tax incentives/deductions, taxpayers have to furnish their tax returns on or before the due date specified for filing the tax returns. Most publicly traded companies will apply a non-standard or quarterly accounting on a structure using a non-calendar groundwork for a variety of reasons. Furthermore, different governments employ different quarter structures.

• Further, to claim the tax incentives/deductions, taxpayers have to furnish their tax returns on or before the due date specified for filing the tax returns.
• However it must be noted that the Constitution, on the other hand, makes no provision for the fiscal year to begin in April.
• Despite the challenging market conditions, Coinbase CFO Alesia Haas believes the improved cost-structure will help the firm hit its 2023 goal to improve core profit.
• As it likes to show a comprehensive image after all banks come out with their numbers, its accounting year starts with a three-month lag and follows a July-June cycle.
• There are number of countries who are having different financial year as compared to the Calendar year.

He is the author of 2 books and has vast experience of representing cases before the Tax Dept. Another reason may be that the months of November and December are considered as Festival Season due to the presence of many festivals like Diwali, Christmas etc. The Inventory is very fast moving during this period and it would have been difficult to close the books of accounts during this period. Moreover, employees of many organisations are also on a vacation during this period and it gets difficult to close the books during this period.

The quarters of a year are usually denoted by the letters;Q1 stands for the first quarter, Q2 refers to the second. ​Quarterly return of non-deduction of tax at source by a banking company from interest on time deposit in respect of the quarter ending June 30, 2023. The Income Tax Department appeals to taxpayers NOT to respond to such e-mails and NOT to share information relating to their credit card, bank and other financial accounts. Apart from the calendar year , analysts require comparing results based on the financial year.

Prior to that, the fiscal year in India was from 1 May to 30 April in alignment with the harvest season. The deadline for making tax saving investments under Section 80C, such as PPF, ELSS, etc., falls on March 31. The income earned in one accounting year is subject to tax in the following accounting year . Many corporate realigned to April-March recently after new Companies Act called for a uniform financial year. Most companies and businesses in India follow the April to March accounting cycle that syncs with the fiscal year of the government.

• Most companies that offer a dividend will spread it out over four quarters almost constantly.
• Will it be beneficial if the financial year and calendar year will be same?
• The starting and ending of this 12-month period may vary across countries, entities, and business cycles.

As the financial year is the year which is previous to the assessment year, the financial year is sometimes also called Previous Year for Income Tax purposes. The Balance Sheet and Income statement of companies across the Globe are usually prepared for a period of 1 year. However, the date from which this period starts varies from country to country. Oil prices extend losses after Fed interest rate riseOil prices fell over 1% after the US Federal Reserve raised interest rates and concerns were raised over a weak global economy that could dampen energy demand.

The income is calculated based on an estimate of the yields harvested in February and March. Some people have opinion that we need to change the financial year same as Calendar Year from the existing 1st April to 31stMarch. Will it be beneficial if the financial year and calendar year will be same?

For example, the YEAR function on 12-Jan-2019 returns the value of 2019. All tax-related changes announced in the Budget of any year are applicable for income earned from April 1 of the following year. The RBI too follows its own accounting year, as it likes to present an aggregate picture after all banks come out with their numbers, its accounting year begins with a three-month lag and follows a July-June cycle. The reason for adopting this time range comes from the time when India was a colony. The British Empire had adopted the Gregorian calendar, according to which the new year would start on the 1st of April. The same was imposed on India during colonisation, and the country persisted with it.

Financial Year 2019 – 2020

There is no direct formula available in Excel to identify the financial year and the subsequent quarter. This article explains the common logic, which can be applied elsewhere. The assessment year that follows is the financial year and the period in which tax returns are filed. Most companies and businesses in India follow the accounting cycle from April to March, which is in sync with the Government’s fiscal year. For example, Nestle India follows an accounting year from January to December, while the financial year for Gillette India ends on June 30.

A financial year quarters india year is a regular 12-month period from 1st January to 31st December. The 12 months of a fiscal year are selected based on multiple factors such as the seasonality of the business, the assessment year followed in the region of incorporation, etc. The current financial year in India started on 01 April 2023 and will end on 31 March 2024. This is the 12-month time frame for which organisations will prepare financial statements reflecting their income through their business operations and other activities. Following a fiscal year provides many benefits ranging from making income tax assessment easier to meet regulatory requirements. A fiscal year is the accounting period used by firms to report their business metrics.

Q1, Q2, Q3, and Q4 are the four periods that are referred to as business quarters. According to the quarter definition, it is a three-month interval in the business year during which a company’s financial results are published. As the name suggests, a year is divided into four quarters; therefore, a public listed company can issue its four quarterly reports every year. Within a company’s fiscal year, fiscal quarters are three-month intervals that continue consecutively . Publicly listed corporations use fiscal quarters to plan the release of financial statements and the payment of dividends and capital gains. On the financial calendar of a company, a quarter is a three-month interval that serves as the foundation for regular financial statements and dividend payouts.

Income Tax Return Forms are specialised forms for the evaluation and taxation of FY income. It is for re-evaluation extent from five years to 17 years from the end of the relevant tax year. A financial transaction statement for the tax year on or before May 31 of the year following the tax year must be filed electronically under Form 61A.

The value of the company’s stock could collapse if the company has a bad quarter. The issuing company fixes a particular date when the investor must own shares in order to be eligible to participate in corporate events. • The Annual Aggregate Turnover of the taxpayer in the previous financial year is displayed. This system is also connected with the Hindu festival of Vaisakha or the Hindu New Year. Hence, this may be one of the reasons why the Indian government also thought of starting the financial year from April to March in India.

Since our threshold for the financial year end is March , the IF statement is checking the month value of the date in the cell. If one make new financial resolutions on January 1 and start investing right away, but the taxation on your investments will follow the April-March cycle. The action plan for the upcoming fiscal year beginning April is usually presented by the government towards the end of the previous fiscal. Considering that taxation is one of the major sources of revenue for the government, the tax year too runs from April to March. For instance, Nestle India follows a January to December accounting year while Gillette India’s financial year ends on June 30.