India, Dec. 6 -- Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman has said the government's next focus of reforms includes an overhaul of the custom duty system, much as the income tax regime has been simplified.

"We made sure that income tax is no longer a tiresome exercise," she cited as an example, recalling that the I-T regime was often termed "tax terrorism", speaking at the 23rd Hindustan Times Leadership Summit on December 6, 2025.

Live updates | What Nirmala Sitharam said at HTLS 2025

"The commentary used to be that income tax rates are not the problem - 'yes, we want lower and lower rates' - but it is the tax administration which causes the problem," the senior BJP leader said, in conversation with HT Editor-in-Chief R Sukumar. She s...