FM Arun Jaitley pushes GST, reassures on back taxes

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Saturday he hoped the opposition Congress party will come round to backing a proposed Goods and Services Tax (GST) that it has opposed despite being the first to propose the reform.

"I hope they are flexible and see the rationale behind passing GST," Jaitley said in an interview at the Economic Times Global Business Summit.

Jaitley reiterated a reassurances that India would not pursue foreign companies with new retroactive tax claims, adding that he would like to see the few remaining disputes resolved "as expeditiously as possible."