Uttarakhand Tourism Entrepreneur Promotion Scheme

What is the Uttarakhand Tourism Entrepreneur Promotion Scheme?

Uttarakhand Tourism Entrepreneur Promotion Scheme is a financial incentive scheme of the Department of Tourism, Government of Uttarakhand, notified in 2024 and aligned with the objectives of the Uttarakhand Tourism Policy 2023. The scheme is often referred to locally as the Uttarakhand Paryatan Udyami Protsahan Yojana.

According to the myScheme entry maintained for the Tourism Department, the scheme is built for permanent residents and entrepreneurs of Uttarakhand who invest between Rs 1 crore and Rs 5 crore in an identified tourism activity. That investment band is the whole point of the scheme: the Uttarakhand Tourism Policy 2023 already carries incentives for large tourism projects, and this scheme fills the gap below them so that local, small and medium tourism businesses are not squeezed out by outside capital.

Uttarakhand Tourism Entrepreneur Promotion Scheme provides three distinct benefits. A capital grant, 100% stamp duty reimbursement and a 3% interest subsidy on term loans. All three are routed through the same single window process run under the Uttarakhand Enterprise Single Window Facilitation and Clearance Act, 2012.

Stated objectives

• Encourage the establishment and growth of small tourism units owned by local residents and investors.
• Create employment in the tourism sector through local investors.
• Build high-quality basic facilities in selected tourism activities in the Rs 1 crore to Rs 5 crore investment range.
• Spread the benefits of tourism development, employment and infrastructure across all regions of Uttarakhand rather than concentrating them in a few towns.

Which districts fall in Category A, B and C?

The size of every benefit under the scheme depends on where the unit is built. The Tourism Department classifies the state into three categories, with the poorest-connected hill districts getting the largest grants.

A hotel of the same size therefore earns a materially larger grant in Pithoragarh than in Haridwar. Check the category of your tehsil, not just your district, before you finalise a site.

Which tourism activities are covered?

Uttarakhand Tourism Entrepreneur Promotion Scheme applies to a fixed list of identified activities:

• Works related solely to maintenance of cultural and historical heritage
• Parking spaces at tourist spots
• Ropeways and funiculars
• Expansion of an existing hotel or resort
• Floating platforms and floating resorts
• Heritage hotels and units
• Hotels and motels
• Spa and wellness resorts
• Tourist resorts and tourist villages
• Cruise boats, yachts, houseboats and boat clubs
• Eco lodges and residential tents
• Non-fuel wayside facilities on national and state highways, including restaurants and parking
• MICE or convention centres
• Tourism or hospitality training centres
• Yoga, Ayurveda and naturopathy resorts
• Museums and commercial art galleries
• Amusement parks

A business outside this list, a travel agency, a shop, a transport fleet: is not covered by this scheme even if the owner is a permanent resident.

Who is eligible for the Uttarakhand Tourism Entrepreneur Promotion Scheme?

You can be considered if:

• You are a permanent resident or entrepreneur of Uttarakhand.
• Your proposed investment in an identified tourism activity is between Rs 1,00,00,000 and Rs 5,00,00,000.
• Your unit is registered as a sole proprietorship, partnership, LLP, private limited company or other legal entity, and participation in it is exclusively by permanent residents or entrepreneurs of Uttarakhand.
• The unit stands on fully owned land, or on leased land with a remaining lease period of more than 10 years.
• You have taken in-principle approval through the Common Application Form (CAF) on the single window portal before setting up the new unit or starting the expansion.
• The unit provides a minimum of 70% permanent local employment.
• The unit is registered with the State Goods and Services Tax Department.

You cannot apply if:

• You are not a permanent resident of Uttarakhand, or your entity has any shareholding or partnership stake held by someone who is not.
• Your project cost is below Rs 1 crore or above Rs 5 crore.
• Your activity is not on the identified list of tourism activities.
• You started construction or commercial operation before obtaining in-principle approval on the single window portal. Approval must come first.
• You are on leased land with less than 10 years of lease remaining.
• You are already drawing an identical benefit under another central or state scheme. The same benefit cannot be claimed twice.

How much money does the scheme give?

Capital grant. The grant is a fixed base of Rs 33,00,000 plus a percentage of the permissible capital investment above Rs 1,00,00,000:

Permissible capital investment covers peripheral infrastructure such as the boundary wall and internal roads, the structure and building, plant, indigenous and imported machinery and equipment, material handling equipment, mechanical, electrical and plumbing installations, fixtures, furniture and fittings, waste management facilities, transformers, generators, captive power plants and related installation expenses. It excludes land and land development, pre-construction expenses, consultancy fees, capitalised interest and working capital.

Stamp duty. 100% of the stamp duty paid on the sale or lease deed, the project loan agreement and the mortgage or pledge is reimbursed in a lump sum after the commercial operation date. The stamp duty claim must be filed together with the capital grant application; a separate later claim is not accepted.

Interest subsidy. A 3% subsidy on term loans from notified commercial banks, financial institutions, state cooperative banks, regional rural banks or institutions recognised by the central or state government. It runs for a maximum of 3 years from the commercial operation date, capped at Rs 4,00,000 a year in Category A, Rs 5,00,000 in Category B and Rs 6,00,000 in Category C. The amount is worked out each year on the interest actually paid after operations begin.

How to apply for the Uttarakhand Tourism Entrepreneur Promotion Scheme

1. Create an account on the Invest Uttarakhand portal at investuttarakhand.uk.gov.in. Click Login as in the top right corner, then Create an account.
2. Choose your registration type, Investor, On Behalf of Investor, Exhibitor or Organiser — and enter your PAN number, full name, the name of the legal entity, mobile number, full address, district, email address and a password. Submit to complete registration.
3. Log in with your IUID or email and password and open the Common Application Form (CAF).
4. Fill the enterprise details, business category, details of the managing director, partner or CEO, the authorised coordinator, financial indicators and organisational details, and select the correct tourism activity.
5. Upload the supporting documents and submit the CAF for in-principle approval. Do this before you begin construction or expansion.
6. Obtain the pre-construction clearances you need: land use change, fire safety, environmental clearance, electricity connection, water supply and building plan approval, and build the unit.
7. Complete post-construction registrations including the Occupancy Certificate from the Tourism Department and travel trade registration, then start commercial operations.
8. File the grant claim online on the same portal using your allotted CAF ID, within 150 days of the close of the financial year for which you are claiming, attaching the prescribed documents.
9. Track the application on the portal. Digitally signed certificates and approvals can be downloaded once issued.

How is the claim verified and paid?

Uttarakhand Tourism Entrepreneur Promotion Scheme claims move through a fixed chain. The District Tourism Development Officer and the district-level tourism committee headed by the Chief Development Officer carry out a physical site inspection and file a joint inspection report. The Nodal Officer at the Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board scrutinises that report along with your documents. The proposal then goes to the Integrated Tourism Committee chaired by the CEO of UTDB, which recommends it to the State Level supported Committee chaired by the Chief Secretary for financial sanction. Approved money is transferred online to the applicant's bank account.

Because the capital grant is released against annual filings, the unit must submit its GST returns, income tax returns, shareholding details and an affidavit of commercial operation every year for 10 years after the commercial operation date. Miss a year and that year's instalment stops.

Why applications get rejected or held

• No in-principle approval before construction. This is the single most common failure. A CAF filed after the unit is built cannot be regularised.
• Investment outside the Rs 1 crore to Rs 5 crore band, including cases where land cost was wrongly counted towards the figure.
• Shareholding held by a person who is not a permanent resident of Uttarakhand, which breaks the exclusivity condition.
• Local employment below 70% at the time of verification.
• Stamp duty claimed separately instead of along with the first capital grant application.
• Lease with less than 10 years remaining on the project land.
• Missing GST registration or unfiled GST and income tax returns.
• Claim filed after 150 days from the close of the financial year.

Wrongly availed benefits are recoverable. Under the operational guidelines that govern the parent Tourism Policy 2023, benefits obtained through misrepresentation must be refunded within 30 days of notice, with penal interest of 18%.

Where to get help

• Invest Uttarakhand helpline: +91-7618544555, 10:00 AM to 5:00 PM IST, and the email mpr@doiuk.org.
• District Tourism Development Officer in your district, for site inspection and Occupancy Certificate questions.
• General Manager, District Industries Centre, who receives and scrutinises single window applications for projects up to Rs 50 crore.
• Nodal Officer, Uttarakhand Tourism Development Board, for claim scrutiny and disbursement queries.

Registration and application on the Invest Uttarakhand portal are free. No agent can guarantee sanction of a capital grant, and every stage of the file is visible to you on the portal itself.