Overview
- Speaking at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit, the finance minister called customs her next major clean-up assignment.
- The plan targets simpler rules, greater transparency and fully faceless processing modeled on recent income-tax reforms.
- She said customs duties have been reduced over the past two years and that remaining rates above optimal levels will be brought down.
- Sitharaman flagged smuggling as a serious problem and pointed to risk-based checks, comprehensive scanning and reduced direct contact to curb discretion.
- She stressed the reform is already being telegraphed rather than saved for Budget day, with groundwork underway and alignment with global standards maintained.