Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Friday said it was a “constitutional compulsion” to roll out the Goods and Services Tax before September 16, 2017, reported PTI. He added that since the existing indirect tax system will cease to exist by September next year, it will be impossible to run the country without revenue collection. “The Constitution does not permit 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,” said Jaitley.

The finance minister also urged states not to oppose the new tax regime only for the sake of opposition. His comment came after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee threatened to withdraw its support to GST as a mark of her protest against the Centre’s move to denotify Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes. To this, Jaitley said, “If a state is seen as always being on the wrong side of every reform, then investors are going to be very wary of those states.”

Jaitley added that the GST coupled with demonetisation will prove to be the game-changers for the Indian economy. “India is likely to continue to be the fastest growing major economy in the world, as it was last year.”