Scheme for Financial Assistance to Integrated Logistics Facilities: Reimbursement of Stamp Duty

What is the Scheme for Financial Assistance to Integrated Logistics Facilities?

Scheme for Financial Assistance to Integrated Logistics Facilities is an incentive scheme of the Industries and Mines Department, Government of Gujarat, notified through Government Resolution No. GID-102021-560-I-1 dated 31 July 2021 under the Gujarat Integrated Logistics and Logistics Park Policy 2021. The scheme came into force on 2 August 2021 and, as stated in the resolution, remains in operation for five years up to 1 August 2026.

The resolution offers eight separate incentives to logistics projects. This guide covers the stamp duty component: a one-time reimbursement of 100% of the stamp duty paid to the Government of Gujarat by an eligible new unit or project. Stamp duty on land for a large warehouse or an inland container depot runs into crores, so this is often the single largest cash item in a logistics developer's incentive package after the capital subsidy.

The policy background is specific to Gujarat. As the resolution records, the state has a 1,600 km coastline with 1 major and 48 non-major ports, handles about 40% of India's cargo, and ranked first in the Logistics Ease Across Different States (LEADS) index in both 2018 and 2019. Roughly 560 km of the western Dedicated Freight Corridor passes through Gujarat. The incentive package was built to add private storage, handling and transfer capacity along those corridors.

Which projects count as logistics facilities?

The Government Resolution defines logistics facilities in detail, and this list is what the Industries Commissionerate uses when it registers a project:

• Logistics parks and multi-modal logistics parks: cargo aggregation and segregation, distribution, inter-modal transfer, open and closed storage, temperature-controlled or ambient storage, customs bonded warehousing, material handling equipment, parking and value-added services, with supporting internal roads, water pipelines, sewage and drainage lines and power lines.
• Inland Container Depot (ICD), an off-port facility handling laden import and export containers under customs control, with road and rail connectivity, bonded or non-bonded warehousing and truck terminals.
• Container Freight Station (CFS). An off-port facility for handling and clearing laden containers under customs control, with storage and parking.
• Air Freight Station. An off-airport common user facility for handling and temporary storage of import and export cargo, with customs or non-customs bonded warehousing and parking.
• Private Freight Terminal (PFT), greenfield PFTs on private land and brownfield conversions of existing private sidings, notified under the PFT policy.
• Air cargo complexes, within or off an airport.
• Cold chain facilities — controlled or modified atmosphere chambers, variable humidity chambers, ambient storage, individual quick freezing, blast freezing, minimal processing centres, and dedicated reefer trucks and mobile pre-cooling vans.
• Warehouses, truck terminals and silos for bulk solid or liquid cargo.

Non-captive private jetties built on a Build-Operate-Transfer basis with Gujarat Maritime Board permission are also recognised, and get a 25% capital subsidy up to Rs 15 crore.

Who is eligible for the stamp duty reimbursement, and who is not?

Who can claim

• A legal entity registered as a proprietorship, partnership firm, LLP, cooperative society, company under the Companies Act, trust or NGO.
• A new unit or project that commences operation during the operative period of the scheme, has applied for separate registration from the Industries Commissioner, and has separately identifiable fixed capital investment with separate books of accounts.
• Projects that use an existing facility's water, electricity, road, steam or gas do not lose eligibility on that ground alone.

Who cannot apply or is not eligible

• Individuals seeking a personal benefit. There is no citizen application route; the scheme funds business projects.
• Existing units or projects. Those that commenced operations before 2 August 2021 to are not eligible for stamp duty reimbursement, capital subsidy or interest subsidy. They remain eligible only for patent assistance, quality certification assistance, skill development assistance and technology assistance.
• A project already availing an incentive under any other state government scheme for the same facility.
• Projects that fail the local employment condition: at least 85% of total employees and at least 60% of managerial and supervisory staff must be domiciled in Gujarat, permanently.
• Expenditure that is ineligible by definition: land purchase and development, goodwill fees, commissioning fees, royalty, preliminary and pre-operative expenses, capitalised interest, technical or consultant fees, and working capital.

How much is reimbursed, and what else does the scheme pay?

Skill development assistance is paid per trainee, capped at 30 trainees per year per project: up to Rs 15,000 for training beyond 120 hours, up to Rs 10,000 for 61–120 hours, and up to Rs 5,000 for 40–60 hours. Reimbursement is 100% for BPL, physically handicapped and women trainees, and 75% for everyone else.

On the interest subsidy, the project must itself bear at least 2% of the interest charged by the bank. Patent attorney fees are separately capped at Rs 50,000 for a national patent and Rs 2,00,000 for an international patent, inside the overall 70% limit.

How to apply for the stamp duty reimbursement

1. Register the project with the Industries Commissioner. A new unit or project must apply for separate registration; the resolution makes this part of the definition of a new unit.
2. Buy the land and pay the stamp duty to the Government of Gujarat, keeping the registered deed and the payment receipt.
3. Complete at least 40% of construction. Reimbursement is expressly conditional on the total required land having been purchased and 40% of construction being finished.
4. File the claim with the Industries Commissioner in the prescribed proforma under the guidelines issued by the Commissionerate, along with the local employment particulars and certificate.
5. Cooperate with asset verification. Before any incentive is disbursed, the Industries Commissioner conducts an asset verification of the eligible unit or project.
6. Await sanction by the committee. The sanctioning committee is chaired by the Additional Chief Secretary or Principal Secretary, Industries and Mines Department, with the Industries Commissioner as Member Secretary and members from the Finance Department, Gujarat Ports and Logistics Company Ltd, Roads and Buildings Department, the Labour Commissioner, GPCB and GIDB.

Guidelines, modalities and forms are issued separately by the Industries Commissioner, so collect the current formats from the Commissionerate before filing.

What conditions continue after the money is paid?

• Local employment at 85% overall and 60% in managerial and supervisory roles must be maintained permanently, with a list of employees submitted before sanction and employment information filed with the Industries Commissioner within 60 days of the close of each financial year.
• Pollution control measures must be installed, operated and maintained to the standards approved by the competent authority.
• Breach of any condition makes the disbursed incentives recoverable as arrears of land revenue, or in any other manner the state government considers appropriate.
• State plus central assistance must not exceed 60% of project cost; the state incentive is reduced to the extent needed.

The resolution also provided for the State Level supported Committee to review the scheme two years after issue and amend it in consultation with the Finance Department, so the operating guidelines may have been updated since 2021.

Common reasons a stamp duty claim fails

• Claiming before 40% construction is complete, or before the entire required land has been purchased.
• Registration not obtained from the Industries Commissioner as a separate new unit or project.
• Existing unit applying for a new-unit-only incentive.
• Double benefit, the same project already drawing an incentive under another Gujarat scheme.
• Local employment shortfall at the time of verification.
• Stamp duty paid outside Gujarat or by a different legal entity from the applicant.

Where to get help

The implementing office is the Industries Commissionerate, Block No. 1, 2nd Floor, Udyog Bhavan, Gandhinagar 382 010, telephone 23252683 / 23252617, email iccord@gujarat.gov.in. District Industries Centres received a copy of the resolution and can direct a first-time applicant to the right branch.

Since the stated operative period runs to 1 August 2026, a developer planning a new logistics facility should confirm with the Commissionerate whether the scheme has been extended or replaced before committing expenditure. Registration, claim filing and asset verification are free of cost; no agent can charge to secure a sanction.