Freight Assistance Scheme (Haryana MSME)

What is the Haryana Freight Assistance Scheme?

Freight Assistance Scheme is an export incentive notified by the Industries and Commerce Department, Government of Haryana, on 8 June 2021 under Chapter 14 of the Haryana Enterprises and Employment Policy 2020. It reimburses part of the cost of moving export goods from the factory to the port.

The reasoning is set out in the notification itself. Exporting units in Haryana have to bear additional transportation cost because of the distance from international borders and sea ports, which makes their products less competitive than those of exporters based in coastal areas. The scheme exists to defray that transportation cost.

The scheme commenced on 1 January 2021 and was to run for 5 years. Freight assistance is admissible on goods shipped on or after 1 January 2021, judged by the bill of lading, airway bill, or transport bill where export is by road. The Industries and Commerce Department extended the Haryana Enterprises and Employment Policy 2020 and the schemes under it on 9 January 2026, until a new industrial policy is notified.

How much freight assistance does Haryana pay?

Freight assistance is the lower of two figures:

• 1% of the Free on Board (FOB) value of the export consignment, as certified by the office of Customs and Central Excise; or
• the actual freight paid on transportation of goods from the place of manufacture to the seaport, air cargo terminal, or by road up to the international border, excluding government fees and taxes.

That amount is then capped by block category:

A unit in a D category block that exports goods worth Rs 8 crore FOB in a year and pays Rs 12 lakh in freight would claim 1% of FOB, which is Rs 8 lakh, since that is lower than the actual freight and within the Rs 10 lakh ceiling.

Clubbing rule. Micro and small enterprises under the same management or constitution are clubbed together, and the maximum ceiling of the eligible amount of freight subsidy put together cannot exceed Rs 10 lakh in a financial year. "Same management" means units having common shareholding or partnership of more than 51% in the case of companies or partnership firms; such units are treated as one unit.

Who is eligible, and who cannot claim

Your unit can claim if:

• It is a new exporting micro or small enterprise located anywhere in Haryana. The notification is not block-restricted for eligibility: only the ceiling varies by block.
• Its turnover is less than Rs 10 crore.
• It holds ZED certification.
• It started exporting after 1 January 2017. Benefits run for a maximum of 5 years from the date of start of export.
• It has filed the Udyam Registration Certificate and the Haryana Udhyam Memorandum on the portal, at any stage.
• It holds a Registration-cum-Membership Certificate from the relevant Export Promotion Council.
• It holds an Importer-Exporter Code from the Directorate General of Foreign Trade.
• The goods were manufactured by the exporting unit itself.

Your unit cannot claim if:

• It is a merchant exporter rather than a manufacturer exporter. Assistance is admissible only in case of direct export of the goods manufactured by the exporting unit.
• It is a medium or large enterprise. The scheme covers micro and small enterprises only.
• Its turnover is Rs 10 crore or more.
• It does not hold ZED certification.
• It started exporting on or before 1 January 2017, or has already drawn the benefit for 5 years from the start of export.
• The goods were shipped before 1 January 2021.
• It is claiming freight on a leg beyond the seaport, air cargo terminal or international border. Only the domestic leg from the place of manufacture is covered.

Individuals cannot apply. This is an enterprise incentive claimed by a registered exporting unit against shipping documents.

What documents are required?

The Annexure-II Chartered Accountant certificate is the heart of the claim. It must certify two things separately: the total FOB value of goods exported, excluding the FOB value of any shipping bills whose state of origin is not Haryana; and the actual freight charges paid from the place of manufacture to the seaport, air cargo terminal or international border, after excluding fees and taxes.

The claim also requires Annexure-A, a consignment-wise table listing each shipping, airway or transport bill number and date, the FOB value certified by Customs, 1% of that FOB value, and the corresponding bill of lading or airway bill number and date.

How to apply for Haryana freight assistance

1. Complete your registrations: Udyam Registration Certificate, Haryana Udhyam Memorandum, an Importer-Exporter Code from DGFT, a Registration-cum-Membership Certificate from your Export Promotion Council, and ZED certification.
2. Collect certified shipping documents for every consignment in the claim year, with FOB value certified by the office of Customs and Central Excise, plus a Bank Realisation Certificate for each bill.
3. Get the two Chartered Accountant certificates; Annexure-II on FOB value and freight paid, and Annexure-III on plant and machinery and turnover: each carrying a UDIN.
4. Prepare Annexure-A, the consignment-wise table, and compute the claim as 1% of FOB or the freight paid, whichever is less.
5. Fill the Annexure-I application form, which asks for items of export, whether you are a manufacturer or merchant exporter, plant and machinery value and turnover as per the CA certificate, constitution of the unit, URC and HUM number and date, IEC number, the bank through which the export transaction was undertaken, and freight assistance received in the previous financial year.
6. Swear the undertaking on non-judicial stamp paper of at least Rs 50 before a Notary Public or First Class Magistrate, affirming that the goods claimed were manufactured, assembled or processed in your own unit.
7. Submit the claim online to the Director or Director General, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises on the department's web portal at haryanaindustries.gov.in, within 3 months of the close of the financial year in which the products were exported.
8. Clear deficiencies within 10 days. The Joint Director or Deputy Director of your District MSME Centre scrutinises the claim and inspects the unit, and communicates deficiencies online within 7 days.

How long does sanction take?

The notification sets a service delivery timeline in working days:

The Additional Director is the competent authority to sanction freight subsidy under this scheme.

Why freight assistance claims get rejected

• Deadline missed. An enterprise forfeits its entitlement if a complete claim is not filed within 3 months of the close of the financial year in which the goods were exported. This is the most common reason for loss of benefit.
• Merchant export claimed. Only direct export of self-manufactured goods qualifies; trading consignments are excluded.
• Shipping bills whose state of origin is not Haryana, which the CA must exclude from the certified FOB value.
• No ZED certification, which is an explicit eligibility condition.
• Turnover crossing Rs 10 crore, which takes the unit outside the scheme.
• Missing Bank Realisation Certificate for one or more bills in the claim.
• Missing UDIN on either Chartered Accountant certificate.
• Clubbing overlooked — a group that files two claims from units under common control above 51% still faces a single Rs 10 lakh ceiling.
• Freight claimed beyond the border, or freight figures that include government fees and taxes, which must be excluded.

Delay can be condoned. The Director or Director General, MSME can condone a delay of up to 3 months beyond the prescribed limit, and the Administrative Secretary, Industries and Commerce can condone up to 6 months, but only where the authority is satisfied by substantial evidence, documents or arguments.

Appeals and penalties

Appeals. An appeal against an order of the competent authority lies with the Director or Director General, Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. An appeal against an order of the Director or Director General lies with the Administrative Secretary, Industries and Commerce, Haryana, and must be filed within 30 days of communication of the order appealed against. The Administrative Secretary's order in appeal is final.

Penalties. Where assistance is claimed on wrong facts, the applicant must refund it with compound interest at 12% per annum, faces legal action, is debarred from any further State Government incentive, and is debarred from public procurement. Amounts not refunded are recovered as arrears of land revenue. The unit is also liable to refund any excess assistance released due to omission or pointed out by the audit team of the Principal Accountant General, Haryana.

Where to get help

• Directorate of MSME, Haryana, Plot No. C-3, HSVP Complex, Sector 6, Panchkula 134109 to 0172-2580710.
• Additional Director, Directorate of MSME; 0172-2580706, the sanctioning authority for this scheme.
• Directorate of Industries and Commerce, 30 Bays Building, Sector 17, Chandigarh: 0172-2701344.
• District MSME Centre in your district, which scrutinises and inspects the claim.
• Email the Directorate of MSME at info-msme@hry.gov.in.

The Directorate of MSME also runs a Market Development and Export Promotion Cell, which is the right first stop for exporters unsure whether their product and block combination qualifies. The full Freight Assistance Scheme notification is published on the Haryana Enterprises and Employment Policy 2020 page at msme.haryana.gov.in.

How to check your application status

Freight assistance claims are filed and tracked on the Industries and Commerce Department's portal, not through a separate helpline-only process, so the first stop for a status check is the portal itself, followed by direct contact with the office that is actually holding your file.

1. Log in to haryanaindustries.gov.in with the credentials used to submit the claim and open your Annexure-I application to see its current stage: submitted, under scrutiny, deficiency raised, approved, sanctioned, or disbursed.
2. Watch for a deficiency notice. After you file, the Joint Director or Deputy Director at your District MSME Centre scrutinises the claim and inspects the unit, and is required to flag any deficiency online within 7 days of receiving it. If your claim shows no movement past that window, a deficiency response may be sitting unaddressed rather than the claim being stuck.
3. Track the three service timelines the notification itself sets: a Letter of Approval within 45 working days of a complete claim, a Letter of Sanction within 7 working days after approval, and disbursement within 7 working days after sanction. If your claim has crossed one of these windows without the corresponding letter, that is the point to escalate rather than wait further.
4. Call or visit your District MSME Centre if the portal status has not changed for longer than the relevant timeline. This office holds the physical file, conducted the unit inspection, and can tell you exactly which document or clarification is pending.
5. Escalate to the Additional Director, Directorate of MSME (the officer who sanctions freight subsidy under this scheme) if the District MSME Centre cannot resolve a delay, or if you believe a deficiency notice was raised in error.
6. Keep your acknowledgement and Annexure-A reference handy for every call or portal query. Since claims are consignment-wise, quoting the shipping bill numbers from your Annexure-A lets the office locate your specific claim faster than the application number alone in cases where multiple financial years' claims are pending together.

A claim that shows as "approved" but not yet "sanctioned" or "disbursed" is still moving through the pipeline and does not need re-filing; only a claim rejected outright, or one for which the 3-month filing deadline itself was missed, needs the delay-condonation route described elsewhere on this page.