Trademark Reimbursement Scheme (Goa Start-up Policy)

What is the Goa Trademark Reimbursement Scheme?

Trademark Reimbursement Scheme is a small, narrowly scoped incentive of the Government of Goa, administered by the Startup and IT Promotion Cell (SITPC) within the Department of Information Technology, Electronics and Communications. The scheme repays part of what a Goa startup spends on registering its company name and logo as a trademark.

According to the scheme notification hosted on goaonline.gov.in, for startups that have successfully entered the production or service delivery phase and want to trademark their company name and logo, 50% of the cost of trademark registration will be reimbursed up to Rs 25,000. The benefits can be availed by up to 200 applicants per year, selected by the Cell as per its guidelines, and the scheme states plainly that the benefit shall under no circumstance be considered an entitlement.

The scheme began under the Goa Start-up Policy 2017, continued under the Goa IT Start-up Policy 2021, and appears as the Trademarks Reimbursement Scheme among the schemes listed in the Goa Startup Policy 2025.

Why the scheme exists

A trademark is the one piece of intellectual property almost every startup needs and almost every early-stage founder postpones, because filing fees and attorney costs land at exactly the moment cash is tightest. Rs 25,000 does not transform a balance sheet, but it removes the excuse for going to market with an unprotected brand name, which is the real objective the Cell is pursuing.

Who is eligible for the Trademark Reimbursement Scheme?

A startup can claim if:

• It holds a valid startup certificate number issued by the Startup and IT Promotion Cell, Government of Goa.
• The start-up has successfully registered its trademark. This is the scheme's defining condition.
• The bank accounts of the directors of the company are linked to Aadhaar.
• The expenditure was incurred after notification of the policy under which the claim is made, within its validity, and was paid digitally. Where digital payment was not possible, the Cell may admit the expenditure at its discretion after due diligence.
• The startup has entered the production or service delivery phase, which is the stage the scheme is written for.

You cannot apply if:

• Your trademark application is still pending. Successful registration is a precondition, and this is the single most common reason a Goa startup finds itself ineligible on the day it wants to claim.
• You are an individual, freelancer or sole proprietor trademarking a personal brand. The scheme reimburses a certified startup entity, not a person.
• Your startup is not certified by the Cell. DPIIT recognition under the central Startup India programme is a separate thing.
• The directors' bank accounts are not Aadhaar-linked.
• The fees were paid in cash and the Cell declines to admit the expenditure.
• The claim is filed more than six months after the expense was incurred.
• The 200-applicant annual cap for the year has already been used.

What documents are required?

How to apply for the Trademark Reimbursement Scheme

1. Register the trademark first. File your company name and logo with the Trade Marks Registry through the Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trade Marks, and wait until registration is granted. Pay every fee digitally and keep the invoices.
2. Confirm your startup certificate is valid. If you are not yet certified, register on startup.goa.gov.in and obtain a startup certificate number from the Startup and IT Promotion Cell.
3. Link directors' bank accounts to Aadhaar. Do this before you file, not after a query is raised.
4. Open the startup single-window on goaonline.gov.in, log in and select the Trademark Reimbursement Scheme service.
5. Complete the claim form, entering the trademark application number, registration date, class, and the itemised cost you are claiming against.
6. Upload the documents listed above and submit within six months of the expenditure. The scheme text also allows the form and documents to be e-mailed to the Cell.
7. Track and respond. The Cell scrutinises the application and notifies approval or rejection within 45 days. The approved amount is disbursed within 60 days of approval.

How to apply offline

1. Visit the Startup and IT Promotion Cell at IT HUB, 2nd Floor, Altinho, Panaji, Goa 403001 during office hours.
2. Hand in the printed claim form with the trademark registration certificate, fee receipts, attorney invoices and bank statements.
3. Collect the acknowledgement with your application reference number.

The scheme document also permits submission of the form and documents by e-mail to spc-dit.goa@gov.in.

What the reimbursement actually covers

Under the Goa Startup Policy 2025, reimbursement is for the expense paid towards trademark search, government filing fees, attorney fees, maintenance fees or any other legal fees for filing the trademark application. Support is capped at a maximum of two trademark applications in the name of the startup for which recognition is availed.

Worked through: a startup that pays Rs 4,500 in government filing fees across two classes and Rs 26,000 to a trademark attorney for search and prosecution has incurred Rs 30,500. Fifty per cent is Rs 15,250, which is below the ceiling, so Rs 15,250 is the claim. A startup spending Rs 90,000 on a contested mark receives the Rs 25,000 ceiling and no more.

Trademark Reimbursement compared with IPR Reimbursement

Goa runs a companion IPR Reimbursement Scheme for patents and other intellectual property, and founders regularly confuse the two:

Both are one-time per application, both require Aadhaar-linked director accounts, and both run on the same 45-day decision and 60-day disbursement clock.

Why trademark claims get rejected

• Trademark not yet registered on the date of the claim, the commonest cause by a wide margin.
• No valid startup certificate, or a certificate that lapsed.
• Directors' bank accounts not Aadhaar-linked.
• Cash payment of fees with no digital trail.
• Claim filed beyond the six-month window from the date of expenditure.
• Expenditure incurred before the notification of the policy being claimed under.
• Same trademark already reimbursed under another central or state scheme, which the companion IPR scheme treats as a ground for rejection.
• Annual cap of 200 applicants exhausted for the year.

Most of these are curable. Register the mark, link the accounts, refile within the window.

Key dates and policy history

• 2017 — Trademark Reimbursement Scheme notified under the Goa Start-up Policy 2017: 50% of cost up to Rs 25,000, 200 applicants a year.
• 2021, Carried into the Goa IT Start-up Policy 2021 with the same terms, administered by the Startup and IT Promotion Cell.
• 2025, Listed as the Trademarks Reimbursement Scheme in the Goa Startup Policy 2025, which adds the two-application limit and the itemised list of admissible costs. The policy operates for three years from gazette notification, and startups registered under the 2017 and 2021 policies are expressly grandfathered.

There is no annual last date. The operative deadline is the six-month window from the date of expenditure.

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
• Scheme details: startup.goa.gov.in/StartupIncentives
• Claim filing: goaonline.gov.in startup single-window

The decision of the Cell on any claim is stated in the scheme text to be final and binding. Where a claim has simply gone quiet past the 45-day mark, the helpline and the departmental nodal officer required under the Goa Startup Policy 2025 are the right escalation, not a fresh application; filing twice for the same trademark creates a duplicate that slows both files down.

How to check your Trademark Reimbursement Scheme application status

Once a claim has been submitted through the startup single-window on goaonline.gov.in, an applicant does not need to wait passively for the 45-day decision or the 60-day disbursement to complete. There are three practical ways to check where a claim stands.

1. Log in to the goaonline.gov.in portal. Go to the applicant dashboard and open "My Applications" or "Track Application Status". Every claim filed through the startup single-window carries an application reference number generated at submission, and the dashboard shows one of a few states: submitted, under scrutiny with the Cell, sent back for clarification, approved, or disbursed. Keep this reference number from the acknowledgement you received at filing; support staff cannot look up a claim without it.

2. Check the registered e-mail and mobile number for updates. The Startup and IT Promotion Cell communicates queries, deficiency memos and the approval or rejection decision to the e-mail and phone number entered on the application. A claim that shows no portal movement often has a query sitting unread in this inbox, so check spam folders before assuming the file is stuck.

3. Call or e-mail the Cell directly for a manual check. If the portal status has not changed for several weeks and no communication has arrived, call the helpline at 1800-233-5060 or write to spc-dit.goa@gov.in, quoting the application reference number, the startup certificate number and the date of filing. Since claims are also accepted by e-mail and in person, a claim filed offline at the IT HUB office in Altinho, Panaji should be tracked the same way: by calling or e-mailing with the acknowledgement reference rather than looking for it on the online dashboard.

If the 45-day scrutiny period has passed with no decision recorded anywhere, that is the point to escalate through the helpline or the departmental nodal officer designated under the Goa Startup Policy 2025, rather than submitting a second claim for the same trademark, which only creates a duplicate record and delays both files.