Credit Linked Fiscal Incentive

What is the Credit Linked Fiscal Incentive in Assam?

Credit Linked Fiscal Incentive is a scheme listed by the Commissionerate of Industries and Commerce, Government of Assam, alongside the Margin Money Grant Scheme, the Central Interest Subsidy Scheme under NEIIPP 2007, PMEGP, SAROTHI, BIPONI, BONEEJ and SVAYEM. The name describes a mechanism rather than a single fixed benefit: fiscal support that is released against a loan from a bank or financial institution, instead of being handed over as an up-front cash grant.

The logic is straightforward. A bank appraises a project properly before lending, so a state that ties its incentive to bank credit gets an independent check on viability for free. It also means the incentive follows real, documented expenditure. Almost every industrial incentive in Assam that involves serious money is credit-linked in this sense.

An important caution up front. The Commissionerate's own page for the Credit Linked Fiscal Incentive at industriescom.assam.gov.in currently carries the scheme listing without published guidelines, a rate, a ceiling or a downloadable application form. This guide therefore does not state a percentage or a rupee figure for this specific listing. Anyone planning project finance around it should confirm the current terms in writing with the District Industries and Commerce Centre before relying on them.

Which credit linked incentives are actually available to an Assam unit?

The live framework for Assam industrial units is the Industrial and Investment Policy of Assam, 2019, together with its 2023 amendment. According to the state Ease of Doing Business portal and the policy's own operational guidelines, the incentive menu includes:

• State GST reimbursement
• Power subsidy (Clause 14.1; 10 per cent of units are deducted while computing admissible consumption)
• Subsidy on generating set (Clause 14.2)
• Stamp duty reimbursement (Clause 14.3)
• Technology transfer, quality certification and ZED certification support (Clause 14.4)
• Interest subsidy on working capital loan (Clause 14.5), the most directly credit-linked of the set
• Financial assistance to MSMEs listed on a stock exchange (Clause 14.6)
• Assistance for environmental compliance (Clause 14.7)
• Incentives to private sector infrastructure developers (Clause 14.8)
• Incentives for employment generation and entrepreneurship (Clause 14.10(a))

For mega projects of Rs 100 crore and above, the 2023 amendment adds capital investment or production-linked subsidy, power tariff subsidy, land subsidy, power line drawal subsidy, employment or payroll subsidy and road connectivity assistance.

Alongside the state policy, the two other credit-linked routes an Assam entrepreneur meets in practice are the state Margin Money Grant Scheme, which reimburses the promoter's margin against a term loan up to Rs 25 lakh per running unit, and the central PMEGP, under which banks sanction 95 per cent of a project costing up to Rs 50 lakh in manufacturing or Rs 20 lakh in services, with subsidy at 25 per cent in urban and 35 per cent in rural areas.

Who can claim, and who cannot?

A unit can claim if:

• It is an industrial unit located in Assam and registered as a company, corporation, cooperative, partnership firm, proprietorship firm, trust, FPO or FPC, or is a unit set up by the State Government.
• It holds an Eligibility Certificate under the Industrial and Investment Policy of Assam, 2019, applied for within 6 months of commencement of commercial production.
• It has a genuine sanctioned loan from a bank or financial institution and can produce the sanction letter, the loan account statement and a bank certificate.
• It meets the policy's local employment conditions — 80 per cent people of Assam in the managerial cadre and 90 per cent in the non-managerial cadre, supported by an Employment Certificate.
• It holds the operational clearances the policy expects, including trade licence and Pollution Control Board consent to operate.

A unit or person is not eligible and cannot apply if:

• It is a Central Public Sector Undertaking, which the 2019 policy excludes from every incentive.
• It has no Eligibility Certificate, or applied for it more than 6 months after commencing commercial production.
• It is an individual seeking a personal benefit. Credit-linked fiscal incentives are paid to enterprises against business borrowing. Individuals, households and job seekers cannot apply, and should look instead at SVAYEM seed capital, the Kalpataru Scheme or PMEGP.
• The expenditure claimed has already been subsidised under another scheme. Double-dipping on the same expenditure is the classic ground for recovery.
• It cannot produce bank documentation, which is the whole basis of a credit-linked claim.

How to apply for a credit linked incentive in Assam

1. Commence commercial production and record the date, because every timeline under the 2019 policy runs from it.
2. Apply online for the Eligibility Certificate within 6 months of that date, uploading the checklist documents including the employee list, Employment Certificate, trade licence, Pollution Control Board consent, SGST registration, PAN and the term loan account statements.
3. Clear the certificate process. The General Manager of the District Industries and Commerce Centre scrutinises the application, fixes a physical verification date, and places the agenda note before the District Level Committee for micro units or, through the Commissioner of Industries and Commerce and its Front End Verification Desk, before the State Level Committee for all others.
4. File each incentive claim separately online in the prescribed form. For the interest subsidy on working capital, the guidelines prescribe Form 8.0 with a bank or financial institution certificate at Form 8.1 and the checklist at Form 8.2.
5. Attach the chartered accountant certificate at Annexure 3.0, and the undertaking at Annexure 5 that must be submitted before release of any grant.
6. Undergo verification and committee approval, after which a Statement of Approved Claims is generated online.
7. Receive release by DBT into the unit's bank account, in the chronological order of the committee date, subject to budget availability.

How do I check the status of a claim?

The 2019 policy process is designed to run end to end on an online dashboard. Log in to the industries incentive portal linked from industriescom.assam.gov.in and open your unit's dashboard. The file moves visibly through scrutiny, physical verification, front-end verification desk, agenda note, committee decision and release. The Commissionerate site also carries Know Your Status and Beneficiaries links.

An application shown as returned means a shortfall of documents was detected and the file has gone back to the District Industries and Commerce Centre; the fix is to supply the missing document there, not to file afresh.

Why credit linked claims get reduced or rejected

• No Eligibility Certificate, or a late application for it.
• Sanction letter and loan statement inconsistent with the amount claimed.
• No bank certificate in the prescribed form.
• No chartered accountant certification where the guidelines require it.
• Local employment thresholds not met, which affects the Eligibility Certificate itself.
• Same expenditure claimed twice under two schemes.
• Budget exhausted for the year, which delays release rather than defeating the claim.

Help and grievance redressal

• General Manager, District Industries and Commerce Centre of your district. The first authority for eligibility and claims.
• Commissionerate of Industries and Commerce, Government of Assam at industriescom.assam.gov.in.
• Assam Single Window / Ease of Doing Business helpline: 1800 345 3579, email eodb-assam@assam.gov.in, which is the right place to ask which incentive actually applies to a proposed unit.

Because the published detail for this particular listing is thin, get the terms confirmed in writing before committing capital. No fee is payable to apply, and all releases are made by bank transfer to the unit's own account.