Lease Rental Subsidy Scheme — Up to 60% Rent Cover for Goa IT Units

The Lease Rental Subsidy Scheme is a Goa government incentive that brings down the cost of office space for technology companies. It is administered by the state's Department of Information Technology and sits within the Goa Information Technology Policy of 2018.

Rent is one of the heaviest fixed costs a young IT firm carries. By sharing part of it, the state aims to make Goa a more attractive base for technology businesses — both for companies setting up fresh operations and for those already established in the state that want to expand.

Support is paid as a reimbursement, not as an upfront grant. A unit first incurs the rent or lease premium expense and then files a claim against it. Claims can be made through the year, so there is no single submission window to plan around.

The larger goal is economic: more IT investment landing in Goa, more technology jobs for local residents, and a business environment that keeps software and IT services firms anchored in the state.

• Up to 60% of yearly lease rent reimbursed for IT units in Goa
• Reimbursement runs for a period of 2 years
• Higher payouts for units employing Goan origin employees or graduates
• Enhanced benefit when 30% or more of the workforce are women
• Smaller business units capped at ₹10,00,000; Mega & other units uncapped
• Covers both annual lease rentals and the upfront lease premium

Eligibility here is built around what the unit is and where it operates, rather than around a founder profile.

• The applicant must be an Information Technology Unit, either newly set up or already existing.
• Operations of the unit have to be located within Goa.
• Accepted legal forms are proprietorship firms, private limited companies, public limited companies, registered partnership firms, and limited liability partnerships.
• The unit's bank account, and the bank accounts of its partners or directors, must be linked to Aadhaar.
• Only expenditure incurred after the notification of the policy counts towards the lease rental rebate.

No separate founder-level condition applies under the scheme.

Lease Rental Subsidy Scheme — Up to 60% Rent Cover for Goa IT Units is open to startups at any stage. It is open to startups registered anywhere in India.

Lease Rental Subsidy Scheme — Up to 60% Rent Cover for Goa IT Units accepts applications on a rolling basis — there is no fixed cut-off date, so eligible startups can apply at any time. Because rolling programmes can pause without notice, confirm the window is still open on the official site before you start.

The scheme reimburses a portion of what an eligible IT unit pays for built-up office space.

• Up to 50% of yearly lease rent is reimbursed, for a period of 2 years.
• That share rises to 60% when 30% or more of the unit's employees are women.
• Local hiring adds another layer: units where Goan employees make up up to 30% of staff receive 50% of the calculated incentive, those between 30% and 60% receive 75%, and units above 60% receive 100%.
• For an employee to be counted, they must have been on the company's rolls for at least one year.
• The rebate also applies where the premises are leased from GIDC or any other government agency.
• Units leasing land from GIDC or government agencies can additionally claim reimbursement of the upfront lease premium paid, along with yearly lease rent after one year of operation, for 2 years.
• The ceiling for smaller business units is ₹10,00,000. Mega and other business units have no such cap.

Lease Rental Subsidy Scheme — Up to 60% Rent Cover for Goa IT Units is offered by Department of Information Technology, Government of Goa, a government body. As a government-backed subsidy, it is publicly funded and open to eligible startups across India.

Once an application reaches the department, it is checked against a defined checklist in an initial scrutiny. This step normally wraps up within 30 days of receipt.

The screened application then goes before an Empowered Committee for approval, a stage that typically takes up to 60 days from the date the application was received.

If the committee clears it, a sanction order is issued and the subsidy is disbursed roughly 90 days from the application receipt date.

Approval is not the end of the review. Applicant units are assessed again at the close of each fiscal year or installment period to verify that they still meet the conditions for receiving the subsidy.

Before you apply to Lease Rental Subsidy Scheme — Up to 60% Rent Cover for Goa IT Units, keep the following documents ready:

• A pitch deck or short business plan describing the problem, product and traction
• Company registration documents and PAN
• Founder identification (PAN / Aadhaar) and brief profiles
• Recent financial statements or projections
• Product details — a demo, prototype or working link if available

Exact requirements are confirmed on the official application portal — treat this as a preparation checklist.