The calendar year in India and many other countries begins on 1st of January bur the financial year starts from 1st April. There is an interesting story of the genesis of this start of financial year which is also observed as the ‘ fool’s day ‘. It has more than 430 year’s history behind it. Before the year 1582 as per the reformed Gregorian calendar by an order of the Christian community’s religious Pope Gregory 2 , the lunar new year of ‘ Vaisakhi ‘ in some areas in India , including those of the Hindi , Bengali , Tamil , Malayalam and Punjabi speaking people used to start on this day. This is an important harvest day, celebrated by people of Indian origin globally. About 425 years ago India was one of the main hubs of the world trade with its share in the global trade at 23 per cent. The shares of the United Kingdom and the United States of America were 2 per cent and a meager 0.2 per cent respectively in the world trade.
In the world trade India’s wealth attracted others. England formed the ‘ British East India Company ‘ (BEIC) in the year 1600 after the Jesus Christ to get a large slice of India’s trade. The Dutch East India Company and the French East India Company were formed in 1602 and 1664 respectively with the similar intentions. When the BEIC officials landed in Kerala, Tamilnadu and Bengal they saw the Indians celebrated the new year on 1st of April. British rulers of India also adopted April 1st as the beginning of the new year for theirs commercial activities. The 3rd emperor of the Mughal dynasty, Mohammed Jalaluddin Akbar identified the Vaisakhi day as the ‘ Fasli ‘ (harvest) marking the beginning of the financial year in his administration. Akbar had not used the Islamic calendar that has only 354 days in a year, 11 days short of Imia’s lunar year.
Festivals in India-
The festivals in India shifted to 14th of April due to the Gregorian calendar reforms. The lunar new year day of ‘ Vishu ‘ and ‘ Vaisakhi ‘ which used to coincide on 1st of April became the international financial year day. Now, this festival falls on 13th or 14th April. The difference of 12 or 13 days occurred over these four centuries. There is the need to consider changes that have taken place in the Christian calendar during this period. In the modified and unmodified Julian calendar that existed before 1582, 1st January and 1st April fell on the Indian festivals of the ‘ Maker Sankranti ‘ and Vasakhi or Besakihi. The influence of Indians on the world trade was so much that these days are declared holidays now in Europe. Pope Gregory issued a ‘ papal bull ‘ or the ‘ Inter Gravissimas ‘ on 24th February 1582, establishing the Gregorian calendar reform. The Gregorian calendar is currently in use in all the western countries. One of the Gregorian reforms was shifting of the New Year day from 25 of March to the 1st January. The other was to delete 10 days in the calendar year of 1582. Accordingly, October 4 in the year 1582 was followed not by October 5 but by October 15th. Thus the Christian calendar was advanced by 10 days in 1582 after the Jesus Christ.
Vaisakhi-
Until 1582, the 1st April fell on the Vaisakhi day which was also the lunar New Year as per the Indian calendar. In 1583 however, the 1st April preceded the Vaisakhi day by 10 days and hence it was 11th April on the Vaisakhi day. As per the Gregorian calendar reforms, the century years of 1700, 1800, and 1900 were not counted as leap years as these numbers aren’t divisible by the digit of 400. As a result, the Christian calendar further gained another 3 days, thus adding up to 13 days as the difference between 1st April and the Vaisakhi day. That explains why the Vaisakhi day falls on the 13th or 14th of April now a days. The above explanation is also valid for the Maker Sankranti which falls on January 13 -14 now a days. Originally January 1st coincided with Maker Sankranti. Initially most countries in Europe observed March 25 as their new year which was very close to the Hindu lunar New Year day or the ‘ Varsha Pratipada’ .The Catholic countries of Italy, Spain, Portugal and Poland readily adopted the Gregorian calendar reforms upon the promulgation of Pope Gregory’s decree in the year 1582 after the Jesus Christ. Shortly, France and Luxembourg also followed it. During the next two years most Catholic regions of Germany, Belgium, Switzerland and the Netherlands also followed it. Hungary followed in 1587. The rest of the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany and Switzerland made the change during 1699 to 1701.
Britain and British Colonies-
The Gregorian calendar was adopted in Britain and in the British colonies, including India in 1752. The kingdom of Sweden adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1753, Japan in 1873, Egypt in 1875, Russia and Eastern Europe during 1912 to 1919 and Turkey in 1927. In Europe the first of April, therefore, coincided with Vaisakhi till the year 1582, in Britain till 1752 and in Russia till 1918. The 1st April was the day of merriment not only in India but also all over Europe. Many hoaxes and pranks were played to make the day memorable. April fool jokes continue till date. Since India had a wide contact and influence in the ancient world, 1st April was also a day of celebrations in the ancient civilizations. In ‘ Assyrian ‘ New Year celebrations it was the last day. The Roman Empire celebrated ‘ Veneralia Festival ‘ to honor Venus, the goddess of love and beauty. The worship of the goddess ‘ Fortuna Virilis (Bold Fortune) ‘ was also part of this festival. In Rome, women removed jewelry from the statue of the goddess, washed her, and adorned her with flowers and similarly bathed themselves in the public baths wearing a head gear on their heads. It was generally a day for women to seek the divine help in their relations with men. The Hindu empires in the south East Asia had developed civilizations through concretization and not through bloodshed. Hence 13th -14th April is celebrated as the New Year days in the Bali Island, Thailand and Nepal. In Bali, the entire island of about 30 laths people observe silence and fast from the sunrise to the sunset.
Fiscal year-
A fiscal year is generally construed as the year for the income tax reporting. It is also called a financial year or a budget year and is a period for calculating annual financial statements in the businesses and other organizations. In the modern system of governance regulatory laws regarding the accounting and taxation require such reports once every twelve months. That does not necessarily require the period to coincide with a calendar year. Fiscal years vary between countries and companies in the same country also. The fiscal year is identical to the calendar year for about 65 per cent of the publicly traded companies in the United States of America and for a majority of large corporations in the UK and elsewhere. Many universities have a fiscal year which ends during the summer, both to align the fiscal year with the school year and because the school is normally less busy during the summer months.
Pakistan and China-
The Pakistan government’s fiscal year starts on July 1 of the previous calendar year and concludes on June 30. Private companies are, however, free to observe their own accounting year, which may not be the same as the government of Pakistan’s fiscal year. In China, the fiscal year for all the entities starts on January 1 and ends December 31, of the calendar year, to match the tax year, statutory year, and the economic planning for the year.
The Australian government’s financial year begins on July 1 and concludes on June 30 of the following year. In Egypt, the fiscal year starts on July 1 and concludes on June 30. In Japan, the government’s financial year runs from April 1 to March 31. In the United Kingdom, the fiscal year for the purposes of personal taxation and payment of state benefits runs from April 6 to April 5. However, the year should run from April 1 to March 31 for the purposes of corporation tax and government financial statements. The April 5 year end for personal tax and benefits reflects the old ecclesiastical calendar , with the new year falling on March 25 that’s called ‘ Lady Day ‘ , the difference being accounted for by the eleven days ‘ missed out ‘ when Great Britain converted from the Julian Calendar to the Gregorian Calendar in 1752.The British tax authorities , and landlords were unwilling to lose 11 days of tax and rent revenue , so under provision 6 of the Calendar of new style act of 1750 , the 1752–3 tax year was extended by 11 days. From 1753 until 1799, the tax year in Great Britain began on April 5, which was the ‘ old style ‘ new year of March 25. A 12th skipped Julian leap day in 1800 changed its start to April 6. It was not changed when a 13th Julian leap day was skipped in 1900, so the personal tax year in the United Kingdom is still from April 6.
United States
The U.S. government’s fiscal year begins on October 1 of the previous calendar year and ends on September 30 of the year with which it is numbered. Prior to 1976, the fiscal year began on July 1 and ended on June 30. The Congressional budget and impoundment control act of 1974 stipulated the change to allow Congress more time to arrive at a budget each year , and provided for what is known as the ‘ transitional quarter ‘ from 1 July 1976 to 30 September 1976. The tax year for a business is governed by the fiscal year it chooses. In Japan, it is the official start of schooling in most universities. It is also the official first day of work at companies and universities, marked by welcoming ceremonies and speeches.
Mathematician Day
The Canada government too begins its fiscal year on 1st April. Some universities in Russia , including like Omsk State University celebrate ‘ Mathematician Day ‘ on April 1 , according to Mauritius-based researcher of Indian Diaspora , Ashok Motwani , who is also editor of the Diaspora Network News ( DNN ) and cochairman of the media council of the Global Organization of Persons of Indian Origin ( GOPIO ).
