Legally bound to roll out GST by next September, says Finance Minister Jaitley

New Delhi, December 2 

Citing constitutional compulsion, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley today sought to drive home the point that the Goods and Services Tax (GST) had to be rolled out before September 16 next year as the existing indirect taxes would come to an end by then, and it would not be possible to run the country without revenue collection. 

The Finance Minister made a pitch for widening the tax base, saying efforts were on to make the taxation process far simpler and make rates more reasonable. For instance, he said, the GST Council was deliberating on ways to reduce the taxation process, including assessment by tax officials. 

“The Constitution does not permit a delay in GST implementation. The government notified GST on September 16 and the constitutional amendment itself says the current indirect tax system can continue for one year, after which the GST has to come. So, you have a constitutional compulsion to have GST in place before September 16 (2017), otherwise the country doesn’t run. Therefore, our intention is it gets implemented from April 1, 2017,” he said. Jaitley made the point that states should not oppose every reform for the sake of opposition because that made investors wary.

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On demonetisation, he said it may impact growth “for a quarter or so” but this disruption would not last long and the move, along with GST, would help create a larger and cleaner economy.

“I have least doubt in my mind that (one year from now) you will have a bigger economy, higher GDP, cleaner GDP. You will have a higher tax base and more money in banks, and probably interest rates will be more reasonable,” he said. — PTI