Interest Subsidy Reimbursement Scheme (Goa Start-up Policy 2017)

What is the Goa Interest Subsidy Reimbursement Scheme?

Interest Subsidy Reimbursement Scheme was an incentive notified under the Goa Start-up Policy 2017 and administered by the Startup Promotion Cell, the body that has since been reconstituted as the Startup and IT Promotion Cell (SITPC) within the Department of Information Technology, Electronics and Communications.

The scheme addressed a problem the other Goa startup incentives do not touch. A young company that borrows to build rarely fails on the principal; it fails on the monthly interest servicing during the years before revenue arrives. Interest Subsidy Reimbursement Scheme paid a share of that interest back.

Current status; read this first

Interest Subsidy Reimbursement Scheme is not listed among the nine incentive schemes currently shown as live on the Goa startup portal at startup.goa.gov.in, and it is not among the twelve schemes named in the Goa Startup Policy 2025. The schemes carried forward into the current framework are Co-working Space subsidy, Salary Reimbursement, Leased/Privately Owned Premises, Seed Capital, IPR Reimbursement, Trademark Reimbursement, Incubation Centres within educational institutes, R&D Reimbursement and Skill Development Promotion, with Campus Innovation, Promotion and Marketing Assistance, Skill Enhancement, Women Entrepreneur Vitality, Lease Subsidy and Incubator Grant added under the 2025 policy.

Anyone reading about this scheme should therefore confirm its status with the Startup and IT Promotion Cell before making a borrowing decision that assumes the subsidy. What follows records the scheme accurately as notified, because it remains the reference point for claims relating to the 2017 policy period.

What the scheme provided

According to the scheme notification hosted on goaonline.gov.in:

• The 30% category. Up to 3 projects which showed immense promise and potential, as recommended by the Startup Promotion Cell, were eligible for a grant of 30% of the loan interest amount, for the purpose of repayment of the interest component of a loan availed, up to Rs 5 lakh per annum, for an initial period of two years only.
• The 10% category. Other start-ups were eligible for an interest repayment grant of 10% of the interest amount of a loan availed, up to Rs 2 lakh per year, for a period of two years. This benefit could be availed by 40 start-ups each year, selected by the Cell as per its guidelines.
• Stacking allowed. The scheme text states that this amount is in addition to any other interest subsidy or loan provided under the Chief Minister Rojgar Yojana (CMRY), an unusual provision, since most incentive schemes exclude double benefit rather than permit it.
• Not an entitlement. Under no circumstance were the benefits to be considered an entitlement, and the Cell reserved the sole right to accept or reject applications.

Who was eligible for the Interest Subsidy Reimbursement Scheme?

A startup could claim if:

• It held a valid startup certificate number issued by the Startup Promotion Cell, Government of Goa.
• The bank accounts of the directors of the company were linked to Aadhaar.
• The expenditure was incurred after notification of the Goa Start-up Policy 2017, within the validity of that policy, and was paid for digitally. Where digital payment was not possible, the Cell could admit the expenditure at its discretion after due diligence.
• It had actually availed a loan and was paying interest on it.

You could not apply if:

• You were an individual borrower, not a certified startup entity. The subsidy reimbursed a company's interest cost, not a personal or education loan. An individual in Goa seeking loan support should look instead at the Chief Minister Rojgar Yojana.
• Your startup was not certified by the Cell.
• Your directors' bank accounts were not Aadhaar-linked.
• The interest was paid in cash and the Cell declined to admit it.
• The expenditure was incurred before the policy notification, or the claim was filed more than six months after the expenditure.
• The annual cap was exhausted to 3 projects in the 30% category, 40 startups in the 10% category.
• You had no loan. The scheme reimbursed interest, so a self-funded startup had nothing to claim.

What documents were required?

How to apply for the Interest Subsidy Reimbursement Scheme

The route below is the one set out in the scheme notification. Because the scheme is not among the incentives currently listed as live, start at step 1.

1. Confirm the scheme's current status. Call the Startup and IT Promotion Cell on 1800-233-5060 or write to spc-dit.goa@gov.in and ask whether Interest Subsidy Reimbursement is open for the current year and under which policy.
2. Hold a valid startup certificate. Register on startup.goa.gov.in and obtain a certificate number from the Cell if you do not already have one.
3. Assemble the loan record. Obtain the sanction letter, the repayment schedule and an interest certificate from the lending bank for the period claimed, and ensure the interest has been paid digitally.
4. Submit the application form with the requisite set of documents to the Cell. The scheme text allows the form and documents to be e-mailed or submitted on the web portal.
5. Respond to evaluation. The Cell scrutinises the claim and, for the 30% category, decides whether to recommend the project as one showing immense promise and potential.
6. Await the decision. Approval or rejection is notified within 45 days of a complete application, and the approved amount is disbursed within 60 days of approval. Benefits could be availed bi-annually or annually.

How the two categories differed

The 30% category was, in effect, a discretionary award for a handful of outstanding projects rather than a general subsidy. A startup expecting the higher rate as of right had misread the scheme.

What a Goa startup with a loan can look at now

• The nine live startup incentives listed on startup.goa.gov.in, of which Seed Capital Scheme (a one-time grant of up to Rs 10 lakh) is the closest substitute for cheap capital.
• The Goa IT Policy 2018, which provides among its special incentives for smaller business units an interest subsidy on working capital loans subject to a maximum of Rs 5 lakh per annum for a period of 3 years. That is an incentive for IT units, not for certified startups, and the policy expressly bars units availing similar financial incentives under any other policy of the Government of Goa from also claiming under it.
• Chief Minister Rojgar Yojana (CMRY), the state's own self-employment loan and subsidy scheme, which the interest subsidy scheme text names as a benefit that could be held alongside it.

Choosing between these matters, because the Goa IT Policy 2018 contains an express bar on double-dipping across policies. Establish which single track your company belongs on before you file anywhere.

Key dates and policy history

• 2017, Interest Subsidy Reimbursement Scheme notified under the Goa Start-up Policy 2017.
• 2021: Goa IT Start-up Policy 2021 notified. The nine incentives published under it do not include Interest Subsidy Reimbursement.
• 2025, Goa Startup Policy 2025 notified, in operation for three years from gazette notification. Its list of twelve schemes does not include Interest Subsidy Reimbursement. Startups registered under the 2017 and 2021 policies are grandfathered for the schemes that the new policy does carry.

Help and grievance redressal

• Startup and IT Promotion Cell helpline: 1800-233-5060
• E-mail: spc-dit.goa@gov.in
• Office: IT HUB, 2nd Floor, Altinho, Panaji, Goa 403001
• Live incentives list: startup.goa.gov.in/StartupIncentives
• Scheme notification: goaonline.gov.in/Downloads/Forms/IFT14.pdf

Because this is a scheme whose current availability is uncertain, the single most useful thing a founder can do is ask the Cell directly and in writing before borrowing on the assumption of a subsidy. A written reply from the Cell is worth more than any secondary listing, including this one.

How to check your application status

Interest Subsidy Reimbursement Scheme never had a dedicated online status-tracking dashboard the way some newer Goa incentives do; applicants followed up directly with the Startup Promotion Cell (now the Startup and IT Promotion Cell). If you filed a claim under this scheme, or are trying to trace an old one, use the same channel:

1. Keep your acknowledgment reference handy. Whether the claim was e-mailed or submitted on the portal, note the date of submission and any acknowledgment number the Cell issued; you will be asked for this on every follow-up.
2. Call the helpline first. Dial 1800-233-5060 and ask specifically whether your claim is still pending scrutiny, has been recommended for the 30% category, or has been sanctioned for disbursement.
3. Follow up in writing if the call does not resolve it. Write to spc-dit.goa@gov.in quoting your startup certificate number and the date of filing, and ask for the status in writing. A written reply is useful evidence if a dispute over timing arises later.
4. Match the reply against the notified timelines. The scheme text commits to a decision, approval or rejection, within 45 days of a complete application, and disbursement of an approved amount within 60 days of approval. If your claim has run past either window without a response, say so explicitly when you follow up, since it puts the delay on record.
5. Visit in person as a last resort. The Cell's office is at IT HUB, 2nd Floor, Altinho, Panaji, Goa 403001, for cases where phone and e-mail follow-up have not produced an answer.
6. Ask about the scheme's status, not just your claim, before refiling. Because Interest Subsidy Reimbursement is not among the incentives currently listed as live, an old claim that was never decided may need to be resolved under whichever transitional rule the Cell applies to 2017-policy applicants, rather than simply resubmitted under the current framework.

Common reasons for rejection

Claims under this scheme were turned down for reasons tied to how the notification defined the benefit, not generic paperwork mistakes. The specific patterns, and the fix for each:

• The loan was not in the startup's own name. The subsidy reimbursed interest on a loan taken by the certified startup entity, not a personal loan taken by a founder or director in their individual capacity and then routed into the business. Fix: restructure or refinance the borrowing in the company's name before filing, or accept that a personal loan is simply outside this scheme's scope.
• The startup certificate was not valid at the time the interest accrued. A claim covering interest paid before certification, or after a certificate had lapsed, was rejected on the dates alone. Fix: check the certificate's validity window against the exact interest-period being claimed, and renew certification before, not after, filing.
• Director bank accounts were not Aadhaar-linked. This was an express, checkable condition, and the Cell had no discretion to waive it. Fix: confirm Aadhaar-account linkage for every director, not just the signing director, before submission.
• Interest was paid in cash without the Cell's prior discretion being sought. The scheme required digital payment as the default; cash was admissible only if the Cell exercised discretion after due diligence, not automatically. Fix: route interest payments through the bank account on record, and if cash payment was unavoidable, flag it and request the discretionary exception at the time of filing rather than after rejection.
• The claim was filed too long after the expenditure. A claim lodged well after the interest was actually paid was rejected as stale, since the scheme ties the benefit to expenditure incurred within the notified policy period. Fix: file each year's claim promptly after the interest is paid rather than batching multiple years together.
• The annual quota was already filled. The 30% category was capped at 3 projects a year and the 10% category at 40 startups a year; a technically eligible claim filed after the year's quota was exhausted was declined for that reason alone, not on the merits. Fix: file as early in the financial year as the interest record allows, since selection is first assessed against the running count for that year.
• The 30% category was claimed without a recommendation. That category was reserved for projects the Cell itself judged as showing immense promise and potential; an applicant could not simply assert eligibility for the higher rate. Fix: apply under the 10% category by default, and treat the 30% rate as something the Cell offers on its own assessment, not something to request outright.
• No loan, or an already-closed loan, was submitted. A claim without a live interest liability, for instance where the loan had already been fully repaid or was structured as an equity-linked instrument rather than a loan, had nothing for the scheme to reimburse. Fix: confirm the financing instrument is a genuine interest-bearing loan before including it in a claim.
• The claim was filed after the scheme stopped being listed as a live incentive. Since Interest Subsidy Reimbursement does not appear among the incentives on the current Goa startup portal or in the Goa Startup Policy 2025, any claim filed without first confirming the scheme's live status risks being held or declined on availability grounds rather than on the facts of the claim. Fix: get written confirmation from the Startup and IT Promotion Cell that the scheme is open before assembling the full application.