Land/Built-Up Area Rebate Scheme

What is the Goa Land/Built-Up Area Rebate Scheme?

Land/Built-Up Area Rebate Scheme is an incentive of the Department of Information Technology, Government of Goa, set out at clause 6.B.2 of the Information Technology Policy 2018. The scheme's purpose is to provide a land or built-up area rebate to the IT industry in the state of Goa.

Property is the single largest entry cost for an IT company setting up in Goa, and the policy attacks it in two alternative ways. A unit that buys land to create IT office space gets a rebate calculated per employee. A unit that buys built-up office space instead gets a rebate calculated as a percentage of the price. A unit chooses one route, not both.

Key features

• Purchase of land for creating IT office space: a one-time rebate at Rs 40,000 per male employee and Rs 50,000 per female employee, up to 60% of the cost of the land as determined by the Consideration Amount. Maximum Rs 1.5 crore.
• Purchase of built-up office space for IT operations: a one-time rebate of up to 20% of the cost of the space as determined by the Consideration Amount. Maximum Rs 1 crore.
• A unit can avail any one of the two rebates.
• Employment condition: direct employment proportional to the built-up space created at up to 80 square feet per employee, with direct employees on the rolls for a minimum of 12 months.
• Reimbursed in three tranches post Commercial Operation Date, or from the date of notification of the policy, whichever is later.
• Prescribed guarantees are taken from the sponsors of the project.

The policy defines Consideration Amount as the value as defined in the Stamp Registration or Sale Deed, so the rebate is worked out on the registered value, not on a valuation report or on what was actually transacted informally.

Who is eligible and who is not eligible?

Your unit can claim if:

• It is a unit of the IT industry in Goa, IT products, IT software, IT services or ITeS, as defined in the policy.
• It has purchased land to create IT office space, or has purchased built-up office space for IT operations.
• It has direct employment proportional to the built-up space created, at the rate of up to 80 square feet per employee.
• Those direct employees have been on the rolls for at least 12 months. Direct employees means employees on the payroll of the unit who are directly involved in the production of IT goods or services.
• For an Existing Unit, the transaction was made up to 3 years prior to the notification of the policy; for a New Unit, the transaction was made after notification.
• It can furnish the prescribed guarantees from the sponsors of the project.

You cannot apply, or are not eligible, if:

• You are an individual or homebuyer. There is no citizen route into this scheme; the applicant is always an IT industry unit.
• You are claiming both the land rebate and the built-up space rebate. Clause 6.B.2(c) allows only one.
• Your unit leases rather than buys. Leased premises are covered by the separate Lease Rental Subsidy at clause 6.B.3.
• Your headcount does not support the built-up area at up to 80 square feet per employee — a company with 3,000 square feet of new space and only 10 employees does not meet the proportionality test.
• Your direct employees have been on the rolls for less than 12 months.
• The transaction fell outside the eligible window for your category: before notification for a New Unit, or more than 3 years before notification for an Existing Unit.
• Your unit is availing similar financial incentives under any other policy of the Government of Goa, which clause 7.A.2 bars.

How much do I actually get?

The land route rewards headcount and rewards hiring women. A unit with 40 male and 40 female employees computes 40 × Rs 40,000 plus 40 × Rs 50,000, that is Rs 36,00,000, and receives that figure provided it does not exceed 60% of the registered land cost or the Rs 1.5 crore ceiling.

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

A "Resident of Goa" or person of "Goan Origin" is a person 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?

The policy treats Commercial Operation Date as the date a business started its first commercial activity and also produced its first bill of sale or service. That date, or the policy notification date if later, is when the three tranches begin.

How to apply for the Land/Built-Up Area Rebate

1. Choose the route before you buy. Decide whether you are purchasing land to create office space or purchasing ready built-up space, because you can claim only one of the two rebates and they are computed on entirely different bases.
2. Register the transaction properly. The rebate is calculated on the Consideration Amount as defined in the Stamp Registration or Sale Deed, so the registered value is what the claim will stand on.
3. Size the space to the team. Ensure direct employment is proportional to the built-up space created at the rate of up to 80 square feet per employee, and that those employees have completed 12 months on the rolls.
4. Register the unit on the Goa single-window system at goaonline.gov.in, which the policy commits to for registration of IT units and communication with the Government on incentives.
5. File the rebate claim with the sale deed, the approved building plan, the employee list showing the male and female split, the payroll evidence of 12 months' service, and proof of the Commercial Operation Date.
6. Furnish the prescribed guarantees from the sponsors of the project, which clause 6.B.2(d) requires before the rebate is released.
7. Await the supported Committee's decision, the authority that decides incentives under the policy's schemes, with a stated commitment of 90 working days for approvals and payments through the single window system.
8. Receive the rebate in three tranches, beginning post Commercial Operation Date or from the date of notification of the policy, whichever is later.

Why land and built-up rebate claims get reduced or rejected

• Both rebates claimed, when clause 6.B.2(c) permits only one.
• Headcount too small for the space under the 80 square feet per employee proportionality rule.
• Employees counted with fewer than 12 months on the rolls.
• Transaction outside the eligible window: before notification for a New Unit, or beyond 3 years before notification for an Existing Unit.
• Claim computed on an unregistered or informal price rather than on the Consideration Amount in the Sale Deed.
• Land cost claim exceeding 60% of the registered land value.
• No sponsor guarantees furnished.
• A similar incentive already taken under another policy of the Government of Goa.

What if the space is leased rather than bought?

The policy handles leasing separately at clause 6.B.3. All New and Existing Units can avail a rental or lease reimbursement of up to 50% of the annual lease rentals, rising to 60% where 30% or more of the employees are women, for a period of 2 years. The same rebate applies where the built-up space is leased from GIDC or any Government agency. For units taking land from GIDC or a Government agency, the upfront lease premium as per the Stamp Registration is reimbursed as per the payment to the allotment agency, and the annual lease rentals can also be claimed after one year of operation, again for 2 years. To avail that benefit, the unit should have been operational for at least one year before applying.

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, chaired by the Chief Minister with the IT Minister as Vice-Chairman and the Director of the Department of Information Technology as Member Secretary, which is the deciding authority on incentives.

Two cautions. First, clause 7.A.1 states the policy remains in operation for five years from the date of notification in the official gazette; confirm the current status with the Department before building a claim around it. Second, clause 7.A.6: information found to be false or misleading means returning the incentive with interest at 18% per annum from the date of disbursal, and being debarred from availing any Government incentive in future.

How to check your application status

The Land/Built-Up Area Rebate is administered through the Goa single-window system at goaonline.gov.in, and that portal is the first place to track a claim once it has been filed.

• Log in to your goaonline.gov.in account with the credentials used at the time of unit registration, and open the dashboard section that lists services you have applied for.
• Locate the rebate application by its application or reference number, generated when the claim documents were uploaded, and check the stage shown against it, such as under scrutiny, forwarded to the Department of Information Technology, placed before the Empowered Committee, or approved for disbursal.
• Track against the 90-working-day commitment. The policy commits to a 90-working-day cycle for approvals and payments through the single-window system, so if the portal still shows the claim as pending scrutiny well past that window, it is reasonable to follow up rather than assume the claim is moving.
• Follow up directly with the Department of Information Technology, Government of Goa for anything the portal status does not make clear, particularly once a claim has moved to the Empowered Committee stage, since committee-level deliberation and tranche scheduling are not always reflected as granular portal updates. No public helpline number is listed for this specific scheme, so a written follow-up or an office visit to the Department is the reliable route.
• Because the rebate is paid in three tranches beginning from the Commercial Operation Date (or the policy notification date, whichever is later), a unit should check status separately for each tranche rather than assuming one approval covers all three; the portal or the Department can confirm which tranche has been released and which remains pending.
• Keep your acknowledgement or reference number, sale deed copy, and Commercial Operation Date proof on hand whenever you contact the Department, since claims are tied to that documentation and any query is resolved faster when the reference details match what was originally filed.

If the portal shows no record of an application that was believed to be submitted, treat that as a sign the filing itself did not go through, rather than a display delay, and re-file through goaonline.gov.in or confirm directly with the Department of Information Technology before assuming the claim is in process.