Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said that the government’s next major reform push will focus on modernising and simplifying India’s customs system, much like the changes implemented in the income tax regime over the past decade. Speaking at the 23rd Hindustan Times Leadership Summit on December 6, 2025, she reflected on how the tax landscape has transformed since the Narendra Modi government came to power.
Sitharaman said that earlier, taxpayers were less concerned about high rates and more troubled by the way the system functioned. She recalled that the income tax process had once been labelled “tax terrorism” because of the burdensome and sometimes intimidating nature of tax administration. The shift toward a “faceless,” digital income tax system, she said, has reduced hardships and made compliance far simpler for ordinary citizens.
According to the finance minister, the same principles of transparency and ease of doing business must now be extended to customs operations. Acknowledging that smuggling of contraband remains a significant challenge, she noted that the government has already reduced customs duties steadily over the last two years. She described the customs overhaul as the “next big assignment,” emphasising the need to bring clarity, efficiency and fairness to the system.
Sitharaman has been a central figure in shaping India’s economic policy throughout Prime Minister Modi’s tenure. An economist and JNU alumna, she first became Minister of State for Commerce and Industry in 2014, later took over as Defence Minister in 2017, and became Finance Minister in 2019. Since then, she has overseen major tax reforms, guided the economy through the turmoil of the COVID-19 pandemic and continued to push for structural changes aimed at sustaining long-term growth.
Her remarks at the summit signal the government’s intention to further streamline the country’s trade and taxation framework, with customs reforms expected to be the next major step in India’s economic transformation.
