Co-Working Space/ Incubators/ Accelerators Subsidy Scheme

What is the Goa co-working, incubator and accelerator subsidy?

Co-Working Space/Incubators/Accelerators Subsidy Scheme is a scheme of the Start-up Promotion Cell (SPC), under the Department of Information Technology, Electronics and Communications, Government of Goa, framed under the Goa Start-up Policy 2017. The policy was approved and notified with the stated vision of making Goa one of the most preferred start-up destinations of India.

The scheme addresses the first fixed cost a young company faces. A two-person team in Panaji or Margao does not need an office lease; it needs a desk, and desks at good co-working spaces, incubators and accelerators are priced per seat. The SPC therefore reimburses a fixed share of the per seat cost at facilities it has listed.

Key features

• 50% of the per seat cost reimbursed at facilities listed by the SPC.
• Caps per seat: Rs 3,000 at a co-working space, Rs 5,000 at an incubator, Rs 6,000 at an accelerator.
• Maximum 8 seats claimable in each case.
• Duration: up to 2 years per start-up at a co-working space, up to 1 year at an incubator, and 3 months at an accelerator.
• Annual pool: 100 seats in co-working, and 50 seats each in incubators and accelerators, subsidised each year.
• The reimbursement can be claimed on any of the plans offered by the listed facilities.
• For certain deserving start-ups, determined through the SPC's internal guidelines, the SPC may choose to reimburse up to 100% of the amount paid.

Who is eligible and who is not eligible?

You can apply if:

• Your start-up is certified by the Start-up Promotion Cell (SPC) and holds a valid start-up certificate number.
• You are occupying seats at a co-working space, incubator or accelerator listed by the SPC.
• You have paid digitally to that facility. Where digital payment is not possible, it is for the SPC to decide under its guidelines whether to admit the expenditure.
• The bank account of the start-up is linked to Aadhaar.
• You are applying within 6 months of incurring the expenditure.

You cannot apply, or are not eligible, if:

• Your start-up is not certified by the SPC. Certification is the gateway condition for every scheme under the Goa Start-up Policy.
• You are using a facility that is not on the SPC's list. The subsidy attaches to listed spaces, not to any co-working desk in Goa.
• You are an individual freelancer or an established company outside the start-up definition.
• You paid in cash and the SPC declines to admit the expenditure under its guidelines.
• Your start-up's bank account is not linked to Aadhaar.
• The expenditure was incurred more than 6 months before the application.
• You are claiming more than 8 seats, or claiming beyond the 2 year, 1 year or 3 month duration limit for the facility type.

The scheme is explicit that benefits are not an entitlement. The SPC reserves the sole right to accept or reject applications, and its decision is final and binding.

How much do I actually get?

Read the two limits in order. The 50% applies to the per seat cost the facility actually charges, and the rupee figure is a ceiling on that result. A co-working seat priced at Rs 4,000 a month yields Rs 2,000, below the Rs 3,000 cap. A seat priced at Rs 9,000 yields Rs 3,000, not Rs 4,500.

The annual pool is the other constraint worth planning around. Only 100 co-working seats, 50 incubator seats and 50 accelerator seats are subsidised each year across all start-ups, which is why applying early in the financial year and within the 6-month expenditure window both matter.

What documents are required?

How to apply for the co-working subsidy

1. Get your start-up certified by the Start-up Promotion Cell. Only SPC-certified start-ups with a valid certificate number are eligible for the subsidised seats. DPIIT-recognised start-ups can use the Startup India login route on the Goa startup portal to reach the state schemes.
2. Choose a facility that is on the SPC's list. The subsidy is for seats offered by co-working spaces, incubators and accelerators listed by the SPC, so verify the listing before signing up. Admission to an incubator or accelerator is governed by the rules set by that incubator or accelerator, not by the SPC.
3. Pay digitally for the seats. All start-ups have to pay digitally to the listed facility; where digital payment is genuinely not possible, the SPC decides under its guidelines whether to admit the expenditure.
4. Link the start-up's bank account to Aadhaar, which the scheme requires before reimbursement.
5. Fill the application form for the scheme and assemble the requisite set of documents, including the invoice or agreement showing the per seat cost, the plan taken, the number of seats and the period.
6. Submit within 6 months of incurring the expenditure, either by e-mailing the form and documents to the SPC or by submitting them on the web portal. The Goa Online portal at goaonline.gov.in is the state's route for start-up scheme applications.
7. Track the two timelines. The SPC evaluates the application and notifies approval or rejection within 45 days from receipt, and once approved, the amount is disbursed within 60 days from the date of approval.

Why co-working subsidy applications get rejected

• The start-up is not SPC-certified, which closes every scheme under the policy.
• The facility is not on the SPC's list.
• Cash payment to the facility, without the SPC exercising its discretion to admit it.
• Application filed more than 6 months after the expenditure was incurred.
• More than 8 seats claimed, or a period beyond the 2 year, 1 year or 3 month limits.
• Bank account not linked to Aadhaar.
• The annual seat pool is exhausted to 100 co-working, 50 incubator and 50 accelerator seats a year — which is a rejection on availability rather than on eligibility.
• The SPC exercising its discretion, since the scheme states plainly that the benefit is never an entitlement.

What are the other Goa start-up schemes?

The Start-up Promotion Cell runs a set of schemes alongside this one, all requiring SPC certification, and most sharing the same procedure: apply within 6 months of the expenditure, decision within 45 days, disbursal within 60 days of approval. They include:

• Reimbursement of expenses for start-ups operating from leased or privately owned premises, for teams not using a government-developed co-working space, incubator or accelerator.
• Grant for incubation centres within educational institutes, a one-time grant of up to Rs 10 lakh towards capital expenses for setting up an incubator within an institute.
• Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Reimbursement Scheme, up to 50% of the cost of an IP application if the IP is registered successfully, capped at Rs 2 lakh for national IP and Rs 5 lakh for international IP, for a maximum of 200 start-ups a year.
• Trademark Reimbursement Scheme, R&D Reimbursement Scheme, Salary Reimbursement Scheme, Seed Capital Scheme, Skill Development Promotion Scheme, Skill Development Fee Reimbursement Scheme and the Technology Fellowship and Patent Promotion Scheme.

The stamp duty position is also worth knowing: where land or developed area is purchased or leased by start-ups, incubators or accelerators, the policy provides that the stamp duty for the land area lease or sale transaction will not be borne by them in the same way, with the incubator or accelerator amount paid after a period of three years.

Where to get help

• Start-up Promotion Cell, IT HUB, 2nd Floor, Altinho, Panaji, Goa 403001.
• Helpline: 1800-233-5060.
• Email: spc-dit[at]goa[dot]gov[dot]in.
• startup.goa.gov.in, which publishes the scheme notifications, and goaonline.gov.in, the application portal.

The SPC is the competent authority to solely accept or reject any claim filed by a start-up, and its decision is final and binding. There is no fee to apply and no agent has any role in the process.

How to check your application status

The scheme does not run on a public applicant dashboard with a status field you can log into and refresh. Tracking works around the two timelines the Start-up Promotion Cell (SPC) has committed to, and around direct contact with the Cell.

1. Note your submission date first. Whether you emailed the application and documents to the SPC or filed them through the Goa Online portal (goaonline.gov.in), the 45-day decision clock and the later 60-day disbursal clock both run from a specific date, so keep the email timestamp or the portal's submission acknowledgement.
2. If you applied through Goa Online, log back into your account on goaonline.gov.in and open the application you filed. The portal shows the current stage of a submitted application (received, under process, approved or rejected) for services routed through it, so this is the first place to look before contacting the Cell directly.
3. If you applied by email, there is no separate online tracker for that route. Status has to be confirmed by writing back to the same address you applied to, spc-dit[at]goa[dot]gov[dot]in, quoting your start-up's SPC certificate number and the date you submitted the application.
4. Call the helpline if 45 days have passed without a response. The SPC's stated commitment is to notify approval or rejection within 45 days of receiving the application, so a call to 1800-233-5060 after that window is a reasonable, specific escalation rather than a premature one.
5. After approval, track the 60-day disbursal window separately. An approved claim is meant to be paid out within 60 days of the approval date, not the original application date, so check your start-up's Aadhaar-linked bank account against that later deadline before assuming a delay.
6. Visit in person if calls and emails don't resolve it. The SPC's office is at IT HUB, 2nd Floor, Altinho, Panaji, Goa 403001, and an in-person query with your certificate number and application reference tends to move a stalled file faster than another email.

Since the SPC states plainly that it has sole discretion to accept or reject a claim and that its decision is final, a status check after the 45-day mark is about finding out what was decided, not about appealing a decision that has not yet been made.