Goa State Financial Incentives to the Industries for Certification and Patenting Scheme, 2008

What is the Certification and Patenting Scheme?

Goa State Financial Incentives to the Industries for Certification and Patenting Scheme is an incentive of the Directorate of Industries, Trade and Commerce, Government of Goa. It reimburses an industrial or specified service unit in Goa up to Rs 2 lakh, or the actual expenses incurred, whichever is less, for obtaining a quality certification or a patent right.

The scheme was framed in pursuance of clause 5.9(iii) of the Goa Industrial Policy, 2003, notified on 4 August 2003 and published in the Official Gazette, Extraordinary No. 4, Series I No. 18, dated 6 August 2003. The reasoning is set out in the notification's introduction: units that obtain Indian Standard Institute and International Standard Organisation certification, or any other international certification, or a patent right on products or processes, "need to be especially encouraged. Such units provide a benchmark of excellence and serve as a model for others to emulate."

Three objectives are stated:

• To encourage industrial units to obtain national and international certification and patent rights to maintain requisite standards of quality of products and processes
• To give a boost to industrial units to achieve the benchmark of excellence and serve as a model for others
• To promote healthy qualitative industrial growth in the State of Goa

Which version of the scheme is in force?

This needs stating carefully. The version of the scheme text published by the Directorate of Industries, Trade and Commerce on its Certification and Patenting page is the 2003 notification, "GOA STATE FINANCIAL INCENTIVES TO THE INDUSTRIES FOR CERTIFICATION AND PATENTING SCHEME, 2003", issued under notification 3/40/2003-IND(V), with the concurrence of the Finance Department vide U.O. No. Fin(Exp)/1472-F/2003 dated 3 November 2003, and signed by the Secretary (Industries) on 20 November 2003. Clause 1(2) of that text says it "shall come in force from the date of its publication in the Official Gazette and shall remain in force up to 31st March 2008."

The 2008 scheme of the same name is the successor notification, framed in the same series as the Capital Contribution Scheme, 2008 which the Industries Department notified on 31 December 2008 under the same Goa Industrial Policy, 2003. The 2008 text is not published on the Directorate's website, and no other official Goa source reachable online carries it.

Everything set out below is therefore drawn from the notification the Directorate itself publishes. Confirm the operative version, the current ceiling and the current tenure with the Directorate of Industries, Trade and Commerce before applying, because a scheme text from an expired window is not a safe basis for a claim.

What does the scheme pay?

Clause 5(1) of the published text: "Under this scheme financial assistance/subsidy to the extent of Rs.2 lakhs or the actual expenses incurred whichever is less will be granted per unit."

Clause 5(2) fixes the frequency: the incentive can be availed once in a lifetime of the unit, irrespective of a change in ownership, constitution or product, with one narrow exception. If, after such a change in ownership, constitution or product, the applicant becomes ineligible to use the certification under which the benefit was availed, the unit becomes eligible again. The scheme adds a qualification designed to close an obvious loophole: loss of certification due to inadequacies in the unit is not reason enough to claim the benefit a second time. The decision of the Director of Industries, Trade and Commerce on this question is final.

Clause 4(4) covers units that have already drawn central assistance: they remain eligible, but only to the extent of the balance amount after deducting the central assistance availed. That prevents double funding of the same certification.

Which units can and cannot claim this incentive?

A unit can apply if:

• It has obtained ISI, ISO, or any other national or international certification for quality standards, or a patent right on a product or process.
• It is a small, medium or large scale industrial unit, or a service industry, falling under the Green or Orange category list.
• The certificate obtained is from the list of certifications notified by the Director of Industries, Trade and Commerce, or of the type described in the scheme.
• It is registered with the Director of Industries, Trade and Commerce; or it is not so registered but has been cleared by the High Powered Co-ordination Committee or any committee or authority formed to grant such clearances for investment in the State.

Service industries specifically covered: even if not registered under the first two limbs, are:

• Hospitals or any other medical institutions registered with or recognised by the Directorate of Health Services
• Educational institutions recognised by the Directorate of Education, the Directorate of Higher Education or the Directorate of Technical Education, or affiliated to Goa University, the Goa Board or the Goa Board of Technical Education, or covered under the Goa Education Development Corporation or the Human Resource Development Foundation
• Co-operative banks, other than multi-state co-operative banks, registered with the Registrar of Co-operative Societies under the Government of Goa
• Any other service sector specially notified for this purpose by the Director, Trade and Commerce

Units that obtained certification or a patent earlier but never took state assistance for it can still apply for the incentive for additional certification, provided that certification qualifies under the scheme.

You are not eligible if:

• Your unit falls in the Red category rather than Green or Orange.
• Your unit has already availed the incentive once. The benefit is once-in-a-lifetime after permanent registration, and the exception is narrow.
• Your certification is not on the Director's notified list and not of the type described in the scheme.
• Your unit is a service business outside the four specified service categories and is not otherwise registered with or cleared by the Directorate.
• You are an individual inventor, consultant or professional without a qualifying unit. This is an industrial incentive, and individuals cannot claim a personal benefit for a patent filed in their own name.
• You have already recovered the full cost through central assistance, in which case only the balance is admissible.

How to apply for the Certification and Patenting incentive

1. Confirm the operative notification with the Directorate, given that the published text carries a tenure ending 31 March 2008 and the 2008 successor is not online.
2. Check that your certification is on the notified list. Clause 4(1) conditions eligibility on the certificate being from the list of certifications notified by the Director of Industries, Trade and Commerce, or of the type stated in the scheme.
3. Obtain the certification or the patent first. This is a reimbursement scheme; the expenditure must already have been incurred.
4. Assemble the documentary proof — the certificate or patent grant, and the bills and receipts establishing the actual expenses incurred, since the subsidy is the lower of Rs 2 lakh and actual expense.
5. Declare any central assistance already availed for the same purpose, so that the balance is worked out correctly.
6. Apply in the specified proforma to the Director, Trade and Commerce, along with the documentary proof that the unit has obtained the ISI, ISO, international certification or patent right.
7. Track the statutory timeline. On receipt of the application, the Director of Industries, Trade and Commerce scrutinises the list of eligible units and finalises the amounts of subsidy payable within three months from the date of application. The financial assistance or subsidy is disbursed within six months from the date of receiving the application.

Who administers and disburses the scheme?

The Directorate of Industries, Trade and Commerce is both the monitoring and the disbursing agency for this scheme. The Director's decision on second-time eligibility after a change of ownership, constitution or product is expressly final.

Certification and Patenting is listed among the Directorate's services alongside Capital Contribution, Share Capital, Preferential Purchase Incentive, Interest Subsidy, Women Entrepreneurs, Employment Subsidy, Consumption of Local Raw Materials, Export Market Development and State Investment Subsidy.

What commonly goes wrong?

• Applying before certification is granted. The scheme reimburses expenditure already incurred against a certificate or patent actually obtained.
• A certification outside the notified list. An audit or a private industry mark that is not on the Director's list will not qualify.
• A Red category unit. Eligibility is limited to Green and Orange category units.
• Claiming twice. The once-in-a-lifetime rule survives change of ownership, constitution and product; only a narrow re-eligibility exception applies, and losing certification through the unit's own inadequacies does not create one.
• Ignoring central assistance already taken. Only the balance is admissible, and non-disclosure risks the whole claim.
• Relying on an expired scheme text. The 2003 text published online ran to 31 March 2008; the operative version must be confirmed.

Where do I contact the Directorate?

The Directorate of Industries, Trade and Commerce, Government of Goa, names the Deputy Director (Administration) as its Public Grievance Officer, on 0832-2420787, email dir-indu.goa@nic.in. Applications under this scheme are addressed to the Director, Trade and Commerce, Panaji, Goa.

Key facts to remember

• Goa State Financial Incentives to the Industries for Certification and Patenting Scheme is a Directorate of Industries, Trade and Commerce incentive under the Goa Industrial Policy, 2003.
• Subsidy of Rs 2 lakh or actual expenses, whichever is less, per unit.
• Available once in the lifetime of a unit after permanent registration.
• Covers ISI, ISO and other national or international quality certifications, and patent rights on products and processes.
• Open to small, medium and large industrial units and to specified service industries, hospitals, recognised educational institutions and non-multi-state co-operative banks, in the Green or Orange category.
• Central assistance already availed is deducted; only the balance is admissible.
• Subsidy amount finalised within 3 months; disbursed within 6 months.
• Individuals cannot claim; the Directorate is both monitoring and disbursing agency.
• The text published by the Directorate is the 2003 version, valid to 31 March 2008 to confirm the current version before applying.

How to check your application status

This scheme has no online tracking portal or application ID system published for it, so status has to be followed up directly with the Directorate.

• Call the Directorate helpline. Reach the Directorate of Industries, Trade and Commerce on 0832-2420787 and quote the date on which the application was submitted, the unit's registration number, and the certification or patent for which reimbursement was claimed.
• Write to the Public Grievance Officer. The Deputy Director (Administration) handles grievances for the Directorate; an email to dir-indu.goa@nic.in referencing the application date and unit details is a valid way to ask where the file stands.
• Track the two statutory clocks yourself. Since the scheme fixes a three-month window from the date of application for the Director to scrutinise eligibility and finalise the subsidy amount, and a six-month window from the date of receipt for disbursement, count from the acknowledged date of submission. If either window has passed without a response, that is the point to escalate rather than wait further.
• Visit in person if the file is time-sensitive. Since the application is submitted in a specified proforma to the Director, Trade and Commerce, Panaji, an in-person visit to the Directorate with the acknowledgement copy of the application is often faster than a phone follow-up for confirming which stage the file is at.
• Keep the acknowledgement safe. Whatever receipt or diary number was given at submission is the only reference the Directorate can use to trace the file, since there is no portal-based tracking number for this scheme.