Budget 2026 signals trust over control; the most important reform is the comprehensive simplification and liberalisation of the Customs and tax administration

A man watches the budget announcement outside the Bombay Stock Exchange on Sunday. PIC/ASHISH RAJE

This Budget marks a quiet but decisive shift in the philosophy of economic governance — from control to confidence, from suspicion to trust, and from discretion to data. The most important reform, in my view, is the comprehensive simplification and liberalisation of the Customs and tax administration. When a nation chooses to trust its citizens, compliance........

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