Govt mulls incentives for big-ticket investment firms

Panaji: Goa Investment Promotion Board (GIPB) has submitted a proposal for special incentives to state govt. Discussed with chief secretary V Candavelou, the proposal revolves around big-ticket investments lined up by Vedanta, IFB, Siemens, Syngenta and 3B Advanced Composites in Goa. The companies have asked the industries department for special incentives in view of the sizeable investment that is being made in the state.

According to govt officials, Vedanta is investing around Rs 700 crore in the state, while 3B Advanced Composites plans to invest around Rs 350 crore to expand its existing glass-reinforced composite materials and technical textiles manufacturing plant. Syngenta BioSciences is coming up with an R&D facility in Goa with over Rs 100 crore investment for the lab to conduct research on fertilisers and chemicals.

“IFB is asking for GST reimbursement. What most of the companies want is to recoup at least half of the investment that they make through incentives. Say, for example, if a company invests Rs 100 crore to set up a facility in Goa, they should get at least Rs 50 crore back through GST waiver or reimbursement or salary reimbursement and other incentives. Maybe not directly but over a period of time so that the investment strategy becomes a little bit cheaper for the companies,” said an official.

In his 2025 budget speech, chief minister Pramod Sawant offered special incentives including full SGST reimbursement for five years, a 50% waiver on stamp duty and registration, and subsidies on amenities for five years for investment projects worth more than Rs 5,000 crore. No project materialised, but govt continued to discuss a special package for large investments.

An official said,“Some companies want the electricity duty and fees to be waived and taxes to be returned. Today, companies are willing to go to any part of the country where there are good incentives. Companies like IFB have options in other states. Vedanta may not leave Goa, but the larger companies are not looking at Goa in an exclusive manner.”