GST rollout smoother than anticipated: FM Jaitley

Mumbai: Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said that despite the anticipation of initial disruptions on account of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the rollout of the new indirect tax regime from July 1 was smooth and without any significant glitches.

"When GST was implemented from July 1, it was anticipated that huge amount of disruptions would be caused. We in the government were factoring it. But the switch-over was smooth. We didn`t see any significant disruption due to GST rollout," Jaitley said through e-conferencing from New Delhi.

He was speaking at the 4th State Bank of India (SBI) Banking and Economics Conclave held here.

"I haven`t seen even a whisper of opposition after GST," he said, adding that there were some concerns which led some sections to protest.

Lauding the adoption of GST resolution by Jammu and Kashmir Assembly, Jaitley said that it is the consumers` will that has prevailed over separatists who did not want economic integration.

"With applicability of GST in J&K, means that in the debate in J&K, the consumers have eventually prevailed. The strength of public opinion has been towards supporting economic reforms," he said.

He said that with the combination of GST and demonetisation, the tax base ratio should go up over a period of time.

Asserting that the Indian economy was becoming more competitive in many sectors, he said that the next one-two years will be the "period of implementation" for the country.

"The economy is becoming more competitive in many areas like infrastructure creation. Aviation sector is becoming a success story. The direction in which Indian economy is moving, the consistency, it indicates something which is not reversible," Jaitley said.

India has the capacity to sustain a high level of growth through the next decade, he said.