FM Nirmala Sitharaman Says India Will Continue To Cut Import Duties

Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Monday that India will continue to reduce and rationalise import duties while the Reserve Bank of India governs any inflationary impact with its monetary policy tools.

"India has already taken several measures on tariffs by rationalisation. Anti-dumping duties are periodically reviewed," the Finance Minister said at a press conference, following a post-Budget interaction with the major stakeholders in Mumbai.

FM Nirmala Sitharaman on India's customs duty

While presenting the Union Budget 2025, Sitharaman announced that the government would remove seven tariff customs rates and keep only eight after the revision.

"This budget is a major step forward to reform India's customs duty regime. We are becoming an investor-friendly country," Sitharaman said on Monday.

She also added, "Inflation management and monetary policy are working in sync."

Last week, US President Donald Trump recognised India's reductions on tariffs that limit American access to the Indian markets as a symbol of good faith. He pointed at the $100-billion US trade deficit and called for further steps to reduce it.

The two nations are aiming to achieve a bilateral trade of $500 billion by 2030.

The Finance Minister shared that the main focus on research and development has continued from the past two budgets and the government expects Rs 1 lakh crore to be raised from markets for R&D.

She also mentioned the government has reduced the compliance burden on companies, which will soon show results.

"Whether it’s manufacturing via PLI or stress on businesses to do compliance, steps are in the right direction. We expect the advantages of these reforms to aid businesses. State governments will also come forward to remove compliance-related stress," Nirmala Sitharaman said.

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