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Agricultural Land Rules in Goa: Paddy Land Law (2026)
What Goa's 2023 transfer law says, how conversion links to it, and what a land buyer should check before paying.
Goa does not ask whether you live in the state. Its 2023 law asks whether the land is paddy land and whether you are an agriculturist who cultivates it personally. If the plot is covered and you are not, the sale can be void and the land can be forfeited. This guide explains the law as published and gives a buyer checklist.
Goa is different: paddy land has its own law
Most Indian states regulate agricultural land through tenancy and land reform Acts that talk about farmers, ceilings and permissions. Goa adds something unusual. Since April 2023 a dedicated law restricts the transfer of paddy land, and since 2024 the Land Revenue Code ties conversion permission to that law. If you plan to buy land in Goa, you first need to know whether the plot is legally "agricultural land" under that Act, because the answer decides whether a sale to a non-farmer is allowed at all.
This page sets out what we could read on primary sources: the text of the Goa Restriction on Transfer of Agricultural Land Act, 2023 on India Code, the Goa Land Revenue Code (Amendment) Act, 2024 and a July 2025 circular of the Goa Revenue Department. It does not replace advice from a Goa lawyer, and it does not cover every Goa land law, such as tenancy and coastal rules, which we did not review.
For the national picture see who can own farmland in India and state-wise agricultural land purchase rules.
The Goa Restriction on Transfer of Agricultural Land Act, 2023
The Act is Goa Act 18 of 2023. According to the India Code copy, the Legislative Assembly passed it on 31 March 2023, the Governor assented on 17 April 2023 and it was published on 18 April 2023. The text says it comes into force on a date the Government notifies. A news report in The Goan dated 19 April 2023 said it came into force on 18 April 2023 after notification. We could not open the notification itself.
The definitions in section 2 are narrow and matter a great deal:
- Agriculture means cultivation of paddy.
- Agricultural land means land presently being used for cultivation of paddy. Land earmarked for a non-agricultural use in a plan prepared under the Goa Town and Country Planning Act, 1974 is excluded.
- Agriculturist means a person who cultivates the land personally. Cultivating personally covers your own labour, your family's labour, or hired labour under your personal supervision.
Because the Act is built around paddy, land that grows other crops, or fallow land, may fall outside this particular Act. Whether a given plot is covered is a question of fact that the Act gives to the Mamlatdar to decide if there is a dispute. Do not assume that a plot is free of the Act because it looks fallow today.
What the Act prohibits and permits
Section 3 is the core. An owner, occupier or possessor of agricultural land may not transfer it to a non-agriculturist, whether by sale, gift, exchange, lease or any other mode. The Collector may allow a transfer to a non-agriculturist in listed cases:
- An industrial or commercial undertaking that needs the land for agriculture connected with its operations.
- A co-operative farming society.
- A non-agriculturist who intends to farm the land and can cultivate it personally.
- Other circumstances that may be prescribed.
A person who gets land under the third route must start farming within three years and continue, or the land vests in the Government. The Act also bars using the land for a non-agricultural purpose without following due legal procedure.
A void transfer gives you nothing
Under section 3(3) a transfer in breach of the Act is null and void and gives the buyer no title or interest. Under section 6 the Collector can issue show-cause notices to both seller and buyer, hold an inquiry and, if there is a contravention, the land is deemed forfeited to the Government without compensation. A buyer who pays first and checks later can lose both the land and the money.
Exemptions, penalty, procedure and appeals
Section 4 says the Act does not apply to four things: mortgages taken to raise loans for agricultural improvement, inheritance, transfers by operation of law, and transfers to the Government for a Government project. Section 5 provides a fine on both transferor and transferee equal to the market value of the land at Government-fixed rates.
| Provision | What the India Code text says |
|---|---|
| Section 3 | Bar on transfer to non-agriculturists; Collector's permission routes; void if breached |
| Section 4 | Four exemptions listed above |
| Section 5 | Fine equal to market value on both parties |
| Section 6 | Forfeiture to Government without compensation after inquiry |
| Section 7 | Inquiry by Collector or an officer not below Mamlatdar, with reasoned orders |
| Section 8 | Appeal from Mamlatdar to Collector, from Collector to the Administrative Tribunal; High Court revision within 30 days |
| Section 9 | Civil courts barred from matters the Act assigns to its authorities |
Appeals must be filed within 30 days. Because an order can be revised, a title that looks safe today may still be open to challenge if a notice was ever issued on the plot. Ask the seller in writing whether any proceeding under this Act has ever been started on the land.
Conversion and the Land Revenue Code (Amendment) Act, 2024
Buyers who want to use Goa land for a farmhouse, house or other non-agricultural use usually need a conversion under the Goa Land Revenue Code, 1968. The Goa Land Revenue Code (Amendment) Act, 2024 (Goa Act 20 of 2024) amends section 32 of the Code. As passed on 7 August 2024, assented to on 2 October 2024 and published on 8 October 2024, it requires an occupant or tenant who applies for conversion to produce a certificate from the Director of Agriculture saying the land is not "agricultural land" under the 2023 Act. Without it, the authority may refuse permission.
The text says the amendment takes effect on a date the Government notifies. We did not find the commencement notification, so we cannot say from a primary source whether the certificate requirement is in force today. Ask the Collectorate or the Town and Country Planning office for the current position before you apply.
A Revenue Department circular dated 24 July 2025 (No. 16/II/90/RD(PF)/2527) deals with a related point. It says that where a structure is already recorded in Forms I and XIV and in the survey plan of the early 1970s, the area under the structure is treated as settled land and does not need a fresh Conversion Sanad under sections 30 and 32. The circular describes a certificate route in Form II for a fee of Rs 1,000, with disposal in 7 days. It sets out the conditions of a 2007 order for Settlement Zones, including a holding not exceeding 1,000 square metres and a structure covering at least 25% of the plot. Read the circular itself before relying on it, as it applies only to qualifying old structures.
For how conversion works in other states, see change of land use in India.
Buyer checklist for Goa land
- Identify the land's status. Get the survey number and obtain the Form I and XIV extracts. Ask whether the land is or was under paddy cultivation.
- Ask for the Mamlatdar's position if the plot looks like it was paddy land. Under section 3(4) the Mamlatdar decides disputes on whether land is agricultural.
- Check the zone in the Goa Regional Plan or Outline Development Plan. Land earmarked for non-agricultural use under a plan made under the Goa Town and Country Planning Act, 1974 is excluded from the definition of agricultural land. We did not open the plan portal, so confirm how to access it locally. See land use zones explained and how to read a master plan.
- Check conversion status. Ask for the conversion sanad, if any, and whether the Director of Agriculture certificate was required.
- Check for tenants and occupants. We did not review Goa's tenancy law, so take legal advice on any tenant or mundkar claim.
- Run the standard title checks. Use how to verify land title and the land due diligence checklist.
- Keep the sale conditional. Make payment depend on written confirmation that the land is not agricultural land under the 2023 Act, or that the Collector has permitted the transfer.
What is unconfirmed
We could not confirm the following on a primary source: the Government notification that brought the 2023 Act into force; the Goa Restrictions on Transfer of Agricultural Land Rules, 2023, which exist but which we did not open; the commencement notification of the 2024 amendment; the current fee and timeline for a Conversion Sanad; and how Goa's tenancy law and coastal rules interact with the 2023 Act. We also did not confirm whether any court has interpreted the paddy-only definition. This page is marked DRAFT for those reasons.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can an outsider buy agricultural land in Goa?
What counts as agricultural land under the Act?
Who decides whether a plot is agricultural land?
What happens if I buy paddy land in breach of the Act?
Are inherited or mortgaged lands covered?
Can a non-farmer ever get permission?
Does the 2024 Land Revenue Code amendment change conversion?
Do I need a fresh Conversion Sanad for an old house?
How long do I have to appeal an order under the Act?
Is this page legal advice?
Sources
- Goa Restriction on Transfer of Agricultural Land Act, 2023 (Goa Act 18 of 2023), India Code
- The Goa Land Revenue Code (Amendment) Act, 2024, Government of Goa
- Revenue Department circular dated 24 July 2025, Government of Goa
- The Goan: Restrictions on transfer of agri land come into force (April 2023)
