As the Union Budget 2026-27 approaches, industry stakeholders have placed customs duty reform high on their list of expectations, urging the government to simplify India’s complex tariff framework and ease trade processes. A number of businesses and policy experts believe that customs duty changes could be a key highlight of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman’s upcoming budget announcement.

Key Highlights

• Industry urges Budget 2026 to simplify customs duty structure and reduce compliance burdens.
• Businesses seek tariff rationalisation, faster clearances, and dispute resolution to boost global competitiveness.

Customs duties are levied on imported goods and play a crucial role in India’s external trade regime, impacting everything from manufacturing competitiveness to export performance and supply-chain costs. Stakeholders are calling for a rationalisation of tariff rates, a reduction in the number of duty slabs, and procedural reforms to make import-export operations more efficient and predictable.

Beyond rate adjustments, businesses are also looking for a customs amnesty scheme to resolve long-standing disputes and reduce litigation costs, along with enhanced trade facilitation measures such as faster clearances and expanded benefit programmes for authorized traders.

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Industry bodies have highlighted that simplification of the customs duty structure—potentially consolidating multiple slabs into a more transparent system—could improve ease of doing business, lower compliance burdens, and boost India’s competitiveness in global markets.

With customs duty reform already flagged by policymakers as a priority area following earlier GST rationalization efforts, businesses are watching closely for specific announcements when the Budget is presented on February 1, 2026.