Financial Assistance to Purchase/Construct New Fishing Craft less than 26 feet for Fishing in Inland Waters of Goa

What is the Goa inland fishing craft subsidy?

Financial Assistance to Purchase/Construct New Fishing Craft less than 26 feet for Fishing in Inland Waters of Goa is a capital subsidy of the Directorate of Fisheries, Government of Goa. The scheme meets part of the cost when a traditional fisherman builds or buys a new fibre-reinforced plastic (FRP) canoe under 26 feet in length for use in Goa's rivers, creeks and estuaries.

Goa's inland fishery works the Mandovi, Zuari, Chapora, Terekhol, Sal and Talpona river systems. The craft used there is small, open, usually FRP, and operated by one or two people with gill nets. A replacement canoe is the single largest capital outlay a river fisherman faces, and the Directorate designed this scheme to keep that fleet renewed rather than let boats be repaired past the point of safety.

The scheme is a replacement subsidy. It is granted against the existing canoe being replaced, and the benefit repeats only after 7 years.

How much subsidy is given for a new canoe?

The Directorate works on a notified unit cost of Rs 60,000, excluding GST, and pays a share of it:

Two things follow from this design. First, the ceiling is fixed on the notified unit cost, not on what you actually spend, so a Rs 1,20,000 craft still draws a maximum of Rs 30,000 or Rs 36,000. Second, GST is excluded from the base, so the invoice must show the pre-tax value separately.

The benefit is available once every 7 years, against replacement of the existing canoe.

Who is eligible for the Goa fishing craft subsidy?

You can claim the subsidy if:

• You are a traditional fisherman by birth or by profession.
• You are a resident of Goa.
• Your fishing canoe is registered with the Department of Captain of Ports, Government of Goa.
• The craft is under 26 feet and is intended for fishing in the inland waters of Goa.
• You hold a River Gill Net Registration Certificate and Licence Certificate issued by the Directorate of Fisheries.

You cannot apply if:

• Your canoe is not registered with the Captain of Ports. Registration is a precondition, not a formality to be completed after sanction.
• The craft exceeds 26 feet, or is a mechanised trawler. Larger craft fall under different departmental schemes.
• You are not a resident of Goa.
• You have already drawn this subsidy within the last 7 years.
• You cannot produce an original purchase or construction invoice — a quotation or estimate is not accepted.

Applicants who are neither SC, ST nor women are treated as general category and draw the 50% rate. The enhanced 60% rate is available on the strength of a caste certificate, or by the applicant being a woman.

What documents do I need?

1. Original invoice towards purchase or construction of the new FRP craft.
2. Vessel Registration Certificate issued by the Captain of Ports.
3. River Gill Net Registration Certificate and Licence Certificate issued by the Directorate of Fisheries.
4. Undertaking as per proforma, which is where you declare the 7-year gap.
5. Copy of the Aadhaar card.
6. OBC (Kharvi) certificate or profession certificate, issued by the Mamlatdar, the Chief Officer of the concerned Municipality, or the Secretary of the concerned Village Panchayat, and countersigned by the Block Development Officer.
7. ST or SC certificate, if you are claiming the enhanced rate.
8. Mandate form along with the bank passbook.
9. Bills from the authorised boat dealer for the construction of the fishing canoe.

The OBC (Kharvi) or profession certificate is the document that most often holds files up, because it needs the BDO's countersignature. Start that one first.

How to apply for the new fishing craft subsidy in Goa

Applications are accepted offline only.

1. Buy the prescribed application form from the Directorate of Fisheries by paying Rs 50. The form is scheme-specific, so ask for the inland fishing craft (below 26 feet) form by name.
2. Fill in all mandatory fields, paste a passport-sized photograph signed across the corner, and sign the undertaking in the proforma.
3. Attach self-attested copies of the Vessel Registration Certificate, River Gill Net Registration Certificate and Licence Certificate, Aadhaar card, caste or profession certificate, mandate form with passbook, and the original invoice and dealer bills.
4. Submit the file at the Department of Fisheries, Dayanand Bandodkar Marg, Patto Colony, Panaji, Goa 403 521, or to the Fisheries official posted at your BDO office or a departmental sub-office.
5. Collect the acknowledgement and note the inward number.

After submission the departmental officer verifies the craft physically against the Vessel Registration Certificate before the file goes for sanction.

How is the money paid and when?

The subsidy is released to the bank account named in the mandate form after sanction. Because it is a post-purchase reimbursement, you must first fund the build or purchase yourself or arrange bank finance, and then claim.

Timelines are not fixed by notification. Sanction depends on budget provision under the departmental head for the financial year, so a file submitted early in the financial year usually clears faster than one submitted in February or March.

Why applications get rejected

• Canoe not registered with the Captain of Ports at the time of application.
• Invoice shows only a GST-inclusive figure, so the notified unit cost base cannot be established.
• Profession or Kharvi certificate not countersigned by the Block Development Officer.
• The 7-year gap has not elapsed since the previous sanction on the departmental record.
• Bank mandate mismatch between the account name and the applicant name.
• Craft measured over 26 feet at inspection, which moves it out of this scheme.

A deficient file is normally returned for correction rather than rejected, so respond promptly when the office writes to you.

Where do I complain?

The Directorate of Fisheries names a Grievance Redressal Officer in its citizen charter. Complaints about the service or its standards can be lodged with that officer or by email at dir-fish.goa@nic.in. The charter commits to acknowledging every complaint and communicating the final action taken within 30 days.

The Government of Goa's general public grievance facility on goaonline.gov.in is the escalation route if the departmental reply does not settle the matter.

Points worth knowing before you build

• Get the Captain of Ports registration moving before you finalise the boat. A completed craft sitting unregistered blocks the whole claim.
• Ask the boatyard for a tax invoice with the pre-GST value shown separately. This one line decides your subsidy calculation.
• Keep a photocopy of the whole submitted set. Fisheries files in Goa travel between the taluka office, the Superintendent and the Directorate.
• If you are also buying an outboard motor for the same canoe, note that the 2HP–5HP outboard motor subsidy is a separate scheme with its own Rs 30,000 / Rs 36,000 ceiling and a 5-year cycle, and must be applied for separately.

How to check your application status

This scheme is applied for offline, and Goa's Directorate of Fisheries does not run a public online tracker for this particular subsidy, so status checking here means following up through the same offline channel you submitted through, not logging into a portal.

What to keep from the day you submit:

• The inward or receipt number stamped on your acknowledgement copy when the office accepted your file. This is the reference the office will ask for on every follow-up call or visit.
• A note of where you filed, since Fisheries accepts these applications at the Directorate office in Panaji as well as through officials posted at BDO offices and departmental sub-offices. Follow up at the same point you filed, because the file physically moves from there.

Steps to check where your file stands:

1. Call or visit the office where you submitted the form, quoting the inward number. For files lodged directly at the Directorate, this means the Directorate of Fisheries office at Dayanand Bandodkar Marg, Patto Colony, Panaji. For files lodged through a BDO or sub-office, ask the Fisheries official posted there, since that is who forwards the file onward.
2. Ask specifically which stage the file is at: whether the physical verification of the craft against the Vessel Registration Certificate has been done, whether it has gone to the Superintendent of Fisheries for processing, or whether it is pending sanction against budget provision for the financial year.
3. If the office says the file was returned for correction, ask exactly what is missing rather than resubmitting blind. A file sent back for a missing countersignature or an unclear invoice will sit unprocessed until you personally collect it, fix the defect and redeposit it.
4. If several weeks have passed with no movement, especially outside the April to December window when department budgets are least constrained, ask whether your file is queued for the next budget allocation. Sanction timelines are not fixed by any published schedule, so this is often simply a funds-availability wait rather than a problem with your file.
5. Once sanctioned, the payment is credited to the bank account named on your mandate form. Check that account rather than expecting a separate notification, and keep the passbook updated so the credit is visible.

Because there is no online reference number or SMS alert built into this scheme, the inward number and a good relationship with the office that accepted your file are the only tools you have to track progress, so keep that acknowledgement slip safe until the subsidy is credited.