Goa State Logistics and Warehousing Incentives Scheme: Subsidy on Electricity Duty

What is the electricity duty subsidy for Goa cold chain units?

Goa State Logistics and Warehousing Incentives Scheme, 2025 is a package of fiscal incentives notified by the Department of Industries, Government of Goa under Notification 3/25/2024-IND/222 dated 24 September 2025, published in the Official Gazette, Series I No. 27, on 3 October 2025. The Subsidy on Electricity Duty is one target scheme inside that package, set out at clause 13.

The subsidy does one narrow thing. A Cold Chain Unit in Goa runs compressors and chilled storage around the clock, and its power bill carries an electricity duty component levied by the state. The scheme reimburses 100% of that electricity duty, subject to a ceiling of Rs 5,00,000 per unit per year.

Key features

• 100% of the electricity duty paid on High Tension (HT) connections procured from the state's power distribution department.
• Cap of Rs 5,00,000 per unit per year.
• Claimable once per year, on the most recent 12 consecutive months of duty paid.
• Filed in the prescribed form at Annexure-IX, through the Goa Online single-window portal at goaonline.gov.in.
• Nodal department: Directorate of Industries, Trade and Commerce (DITC).
• Processing and disbursement to be completed within 90 days of application.

The Government of Goa launched the Goa Logistics and Warehousing Policy, 2023 on 8 June 2023 and granted industry status to the sector; the 2025 incentives scheme is the instrument that actually pays out under that policy. The scheme remains in force for three years from the date of its Gazette publication, unless extended or terminated, and the Government reserves the right to foreclose it on six months' notice.

Who is eligible and who is not eligible?

You can claim if:

• Your entity operates a Cold Chain Unit in Goa. Clause 13.1 confines this particular reimbursement to Cold Chain Units.
• Your connection is a High Tension connection from the state's power distribution department.
• The entity owns a business unit in Goa and provides logistics and warehousing services in Goa.
• The entity holds a PAN and regularly files income tax returns in the name of the legal entity.
• The entity has been in continuous operation for at least six months after the notification of the Logistics and Warehousing Policy 2023.
• At least 40% of employees are Goans on the payroll during the claim year.
• The billing period falls after the notification date of the Logistics and Warehousing Policy 2023.

You cannot apply, or are not eligible, if:

• You are an individual, household or residential consumer. This is a business incentive; there is no citizen application route.
• Your project is a Mega Project, an investment of Rs 100 crore or more, and/or employment of 1,000 or more Goans. Mega projects are dealt with separately under tailor-made incentives through Goa-IPB, not under this scheme.
• Your unit is not a Cold Chain Unit. A plain warehouse, truck terminal or logistics park can claim the capital, interest and stamp duty components but not this electricity duty component.
• The duty was paid on open access power, or on residential and colony power consumption.
• Fewer than 40% of your employees are Goan.
• You have claimed a similar benefit under any other scheme or programme of the State or Central Government.
• Your claim covers charges other than the electricity duty component, energy charges, demand charges, fuel surcharge and taxes are outside the scheme.

Under the scheme, a "Goan" means a person born in Goa, or holding a 15-year Residence Certificate, or holding another document of residence in Goa issued at least 15 years earlier and accepted by the Incentive Review Committee.

How much do I actually get?

The cap is not the whole story. Clause 5.13 applies a second multiplier based on Goan employment:

So a Cold Chain Unit that paid Rs 4,00,000 in electricity duty over twelve months with 45% Goan staff receives 80% of Rs 4,00,000, that is Rs 3,20,000, the Annexure-IX form has a dedicated row for "Eligible % as per employment criteria" followed by "Final Eligible Amount of Reimbursement".

What documents are required?

Annexure-IX also asks for the cold store capacity in MT, the number and capacity of ripening chambers, the number of sorting, grading and packaging facilities, testing and certification labs, dock levellers and conveyor-based handling systems, the type of commodities stored and the area of the unit.

How to apply for the Goa electricity duty subsidy

1. Register the entity on the Goa Online portal at www.goaonline.gov.in and obtain your business approvals through the portal. Registration on the single-window system is the precondition for every claim under the scheme.
2. Log in and select "Incentives on Logistics and Warehousing Sector", then choose the electricity duty target scheme. Separate claims must be filed for each incentive; one form does not cover several subsidies.
3. Fill the Common Application Form (Annexure-I) with promoter details, entity details, PAN, GST number, date of commencement of commercial operations, and the full employment table showing male, female, Goan and total headcount by skill category.
4. Fill Annexure-IX, entering the source of power, the industrial service connection number, the category of connection (LT or HT), connected load in KVA, date of power connection, power release date, the period claimed, units consumed and the amount of electricity duty paid in rupees.
5. Upload the supporting documents; power connection details, the original power release certificate, the electricity bills for the period and the payment receipts — along with the Annexure-I uploads such as PAN, trade licence, GST certificate, payroll copy and the CA certificate.
6. Submit the claim and respond to any query raised by DITC on shortfalls in the form or the documents.
7. Allow the site inspection. DITC designates an officer to inspect the unit and verify records against the checklist at Annexure-X; the inspection report must be uploaded within 48 hours and is visible in your login.
8. Await sanction and disbursal. The file goes to the CEO of Goa-IPB for due diligence, then to the Incentive Review Committee, which meets at least twice a month and whose decision is final. The whole cycle is to be completed within 90 days.

How do I check the status of my claim?

Log in to your account on goaonline.gov.in and open the Logistics and Warehousing incentives section. Three things are visible there: any query raised by DITC on a shortfall, the inspection report uploaded by the inspecting officer, and the sanction status. Sanctioned claims are organised chronologically and disbursed in that order, so an approved claim can still wait on the fund position; clause 5.7 makes the benefits first-come, first-served subject to availability of funds in the fiscal year.

Why electricity duty claims get reduced or rejected

• The unit is not a Cold Chain Unit. This is the most common misunderstanding; other logistics categories are simply outside clause 13.
• The connection is LT, not HT.
• The claim includes energy charges or taxes, when only the duty component is reimbursable.
• Open access power or colony and residential consumption included in the claim.
• Billing period before the Logistics and Warehousing Policy 2023 notification date.
• More than 12 months claimed, or a period that is not the most recent 12 consecutive months.
• A second claim in the same year, when the entitlement is once per year.
• Goan employment below 40%, which makes the whole claim ineligible.
• A similar benefit already availed under another state or central scheme, which the CA certificate is meant to rule out.
• Missing power release certificate, which is asked for in the original.

What are the other components of the scheme?

The same 2025 scheme carries several other target schemes a cold chain operator can stack, each claimed separately on Goa Online:

• Subsidy towards investment of fixed capital to 10% of fixed capital invested capped at Rs 25,00,000 per unit per year, or 15% capped at Rs 50,00,000 for projects in backward talukas or owned by women, SC or ST entrepreneurs.
• Subsidy towards annual interest on loans to 50% of the annual interest payable on construction loans for 3 consecutive years, or 5 years for the special category.
• Subsidy on stamp duty and registration charges to 100% of each, capped at Rs 10,00,000 each, as a one-time reimbursement.

Clause 5.11 blocks double-dipping across governments, not across the target schemes within this notification.

Where to get help

• Directorate of Industries, Trade and Commerce (DITC), the nodal department for the scheme, which raises queries, arranges inspection and disburses funds.
• Goa Online single-window portal, goaonline.gov.in, where every claim, query, inspection report and sanction is recorded.
• Incentive Review Committee, chaired by the Secretary (Industries) with the Director of DITC as Member-Convener, which takes the final call on eligibility and quantum.

Two clauses are worth knowing before you argue a case. The Government may relax any or all conditions under the scheme, and any question on the interpretation of a clause, word or expression is decided by the Government, whose decision is final and binding. Both are routes for a genuinely deserving unit that falls just outside a condition.