Why is financial year from 1st april

Neha sharma (-) (1257 Points)

11 June 2012  

Why does the Financial Year in India start from 1st April and not from 1st January unlike the US and other western countries which prepare balance sheet from 1st Jan to 31st Dec??

 

Just like the DIrect Tax Code is doing away with the concept of "Assessment Year" and "Previous Year" - cant we remove the difference between "Financial Year" and "Calender Year" ???