Capital Investment Subsidy Scheme (Goa IT Policy)

What is the Goa Capital Investment Subsidy Scheme?

Capital Investment Subsidy Scheme is an incentive of the Department of Information Technology, Government of Goa, framed under clause 6.B.4 of the Information Technology Policy 2018. It reimburses a share of what an IT unit spends on capital assets in Goa, so that a company setting up or expanding an office here recovers part of the fit-out and equipment cost.

The core rate is straightforward. All New Units developing office spaces are eligible for an investment subsidy of up to 20% on the investments made during the policy period. Two additions of 10% each can sit on top, and three caps apply depending on the unit's size.

Key features

• Up to 20% of capital investment made during the policy period.
• Additional 10% where a Mega Business Unit is established.
• Additional 10% for office spaces in industries identified as key focus areas by the Government.
• Caps: Rs 10 lakh for Smaller Business Units, Rs 50 lakh for Other Business Units, Rs 1 crore for Mega Business Units.
• Land and building are excluded from the definition of capital investment.
• The unit must have operated from the said office space for more than 2 years.
• Expansions qualify, provided the unit meets the policy's definition of an Expansion Unit.

The policy defines Investment as the net physical assets, investment minus disposals; within the measurement period. It does not account for the consumption or depreciation of fixed capital, and it does not include land and building purchases.

Who is eligible and who is not eligible?

Your unit can claim if:

• It is a unit of the IT industry: development, production and services relating to IT products, IT software, IT services and ITeS, registered or operating in Goa.
• It has operated from the said office space for more than 2 years.
• It is a New Unit developing office space, or an Existing Unit that qualifies as a Mega Unit, or an Expansion meeting the policy's expansion test.
• Its employees of Goan origin or Goan graduates have been on the payroll for at least 12 months.
• It has made the investment during the policy period.

You cannot apply, or are not eligible, if:

• You are an individual. This is an industry incentive with no citizen application route; the applicant is always a registered IT unit.
• Your unit has operated from the office space for 2 years or less. Clause 6.B.4(a) makes this an express precondition.
• Your claim is for land or building, which are excluded from capital investment under this scheme.
• Your unit is availing similar financial incentives under any other policy of the Government of Goa. Clause 7.A.2 bars that overlap outright.
• Your business does not fall within the policy's definitions of IT Service, IT Enabled Service or IT Industry. ITeS expressly excludes research and development services, whether or not in the nature of contract R&D.

Under the policy, an Existing Unit is one registered or established in Goa that had already commenced operations three years before the date of notification of the policy. A New Unit is one that plans to commence, or commenced, operations after notification; a unit that started before notification but does not qualify as an Existing Unit is also treated as a New Unit. An Expansion means an existing unit investing more than 50% of its investment on the date of initiating expansion, with a built-in increase in employment of at least 50% of existing employees.

How much do I actually get?

Unit size is defined by headcount of IT professionals in Goa: Smaller Business Units employ fewer than 50, Other Business Units employ between 50 and 200, and Mega Business Units employ more than 200.

A second filter then applies to the computed figure. Under clause 6.B.1(a), the share of the incentive released depends on how many employees are of Goan origin or are Goan graduates:

Employees must be on the payroll of the unit, new or existing, for at least 12 months to be counted. A "Resident of Goa" or person of "Goan Origin" is someone born in Goa, or resident in the state for 10 years or more, or with at least one parent born in Goa, or the spouse of such a person. A "Goan Graduate" is a person of Goan origin who completed an IT-related degree or diploma anywhere, or anyone who completed an IT-related degree or diploma at an institute located in Goa.

What documents are required?

How to apply for the Capital Investment Subsidy Scheme

1. Confirm your unit qualifies as an IT unit under the policy's definitions of IT Service, ITeS and IT Industry, and establish whether you are a New Unit, an Existing Unit or an Expansion.
2. Register the unit on the Goa single-window system at goaonline.gov.in. The policy commits the IT Department to supporting a web-based single-window portal for all investments in the state, enabling registration of IT units and two-way communication with the Government.
3. Assemble the investment record: audited accounts, the fixed asset schedule and invoices for the capital items purchased during the policy period, keeping land and building out of the computation.
4. Prepare the employment statement, listing employees on the rolls at the close of the financial year, identifying those of Goan origin and Goan graduates, and showing that they have been on the payroll for at least 12 months.
5. File the incentive claim through the portal with the supporting documents and a declaration that the unit is not availing similar financial incentives under any other policy of the Government of Goa.
6. Await the supported Committee's decision. The supported Committee, constituted at state level and chaired by the Chief Minister with the Minister for Information Technology as Vice-Chairman and the Director of the Department of Information Technology as Member Secretary, is the authority that decides incentives under the policy's schemes.
7. Track the 90-working-day commitment. Through the single window system, all decisions on incentive approvals and payments are to be provided within 90 working days, subject to due compliance with the procedures by the applicant.

Why capital investment claims get reduced or rejected

• Less than 2 years in the office space, which is a hard precondition.
• Land or building cost included in the claim, when both are excluded from the definition of capital investment.
• A similar incentive taken under another Goa policy, barred by clause 7.A.2.
• Employees counted who have been on the payroll under 12 months, which pulls the Goan-origin percentage down and with it the released share.
• Unit size wrongly claimed, for example a unit with 180 IT professionals claiming the Rs 1 crore Mega cap when the Mega threshold is above 200.
• Investment made outside the policy period.
• Business activity outside the IT definitions, particularly research and development services, which the ITeS definition expressly excludes.

What are the related incentives under the same policy?

The Information Technology Policy 2018 carries a stack of incentives that an IT unit in Goa can pursue alongside this one, each claimed separately:

• Land and Built-Up Area Rebate, a one-time rebate of Rs 40,000 per male employee and Rs 50,000 per female employee up to 60% of land cost, or up to 20% of the cost of built-up office space, capped at Rs 1.5 crore and Rs 1 crore respectively.
• Lease Rental Subsidy — up to 50% of annual lease rentals, or 60% where 30% or more of employees are women, for 2 years.
• Registration and Stamp Duty Subsidy; reimbursement so that registration and stamp duty charges do not exceed Rs 100.
• Power Subsidy to 20% on power charges up to Rs 5 lakh a year for 3 years, plus 10% of the capital cost of a solar generation unit up to Rs 50 lakh.
• Internet Subsidy to 25% on high-speed bandwidth up to Rs 5 lakh a year for 3 years.
• Salary Subsidy. A matching grant up to Rs 10,000 per fresher per month, Rs 12,500 for a female fresher, for 2 continuous years.
• Patent Filing Reimbursement, up to Rs 25 lakh per unit.
• Quality Certification Reimbursement; capped at Rs 5 lakh per unit.

Where to get help and one caution

• Department of Information Technology, Government of Goa, which issues the detailed implementation guidelines for the policy.
• Goa single-window portal, goaonline.gov.in, for registration and claims.
• supported Committee, the deciding authority on incentives; in case of any disagreement on the meaning or implementation of a provision, the Committee decides and the Government's decision is final and binding.

One caution on timing. Clause 7.A.1 states that the policy shall remain in operation for a period of five years from the date of notification in the official gazette. Before preparing a claim, confirm with the Department of Information Technology whether the 2018 policy window is still open or whether a successor policy now governs the incentive, because the eligibility year and the "policy period" reference both turn on that.

Finally, clause 7.A.6 is worth reading before signing any declaration: if information provided by a unit is found to be false, misleading or misrepresenting facts in any manner, the unit must return the incentive with interest at 18% per annum from the date of disbursal, and is debarred from availing incentives under any policy or scheme of the Government in future.

How to check your application status

Because the claim is filed through the Goa single-window system rather than over the counter, tracking it means going back to the same portal rather than calling a helpline (the Department of Information Technology has not published a dedicated helpline number for this incentive).

1. Log in to goaonline.gov.in with the credentials used to register the unit and file the capital investment subsidy claim. The application or reference number generated at the time of filing is the key to locating the case in the system.
2. Open the applicant dashboard and look up the claim under the Department of Information Technology's incentive services. The portal shows the stage the file is at, for example under scrutiny, sent for Committee review, or approved for disbursal.
3. Track against the 90-working-day commitment. The policy commits the single-window system to deciding incentive approvals and payments within 90 working days of a compliant filing. If that window has passed with no update on the portal, that is the point to escalate rather than keep waiting.
4. Follow up with the Department of Information Technology directly if the portal status has not moved, or shows a query or deficiency. Since claims under this scheme go before the Committee chaired by the Chief Minister, with the Director of the Department of Information Technology as Member Secretary, a written follow-up addressed to the Department is the appropriate route rather than a phone helpline.
5. Check for a deficiency memo before assuming rejection. A status that has not progressed often means the Committee has sought a clarification or an additional document, such as the audited fixed asset schedule or the employee-tenure record, rather than an outright rejection. Responding through the same portal, or in writing to the Department, keeps the claim in its original queue instead of restarting it.

Keep the acknowledgement or reference number from the original filing on hand for every follow-up, since the Department and the Committee identify the case by that number rather than by the applicant's name alone.