GST roll-out smoother than anticipated: Jaitley

TIL Desk/Business/New Delhi/ Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said that despite the anticipation of initial disruptions on account of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), the roll-out 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 roll-out,” 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.