Companies Will Need To Return Availed PLI Benefits With Interest For Midway Exit, Clarifies Govt

Issuing a set of FAQs on the much-talked-about production linked incentive (PLI) schemes recently announced by the government for the White goods - LED lights and ACs, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) on Monday (16 August) clarified that if for any reason, a company availing benefits fails to make full committed investment and exits midway, it will have to refund the incentives taken along with interest, reports Economic Times.

DPIIT clarified that not only will a company have to refund the incentives taken with interest, but its bank guarantee will also be invoked as per provisions.

DPIIT said that midway exit by a selected applicant without fulfilling investment criteria thwarts one of the selection criteria of maximizing gross value added (GVA) to the economy, and also deprive selection opportunity to another eligible firm under the scheme.

The department also clarified that in case an applicant does not meet the criteria of threshold investment and net incremental sales for any given year, it would not be eligible for disbursement of incentive for that particular financial year.

However, the applicant will not be restricted from claiming incentives for subsequent years during the tenure of the scheme, provided eligibility criteria of cumulative committed investment and threshold net incremental sales are met for such subsequent financial years, the DPIIT said.