Customs duty regime next in line for reform

Reforming India’s customs duty regime—by lowering rates on select goods, increasing transparency, and reducing official discretion—will be the next major economic reform push, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday.

- HT Correspondent

Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit on Saturday.

(HT PHOTO)

A comprehensive overhaul of the customs framework would be the continuation of a series of economic and regulatory overhauls that have eased the burden of compliance for businesses and consumers. This year alone, the finance minister streamlined income tax laws with the Income Tax Act 2025, besides lowering slabs in the Union budget, and, as chairperson of the GST Council, ushered in changes that rationalised India’s indirect tax structure.