GeM Portal Registration and Bidding — How to Register as a Seller on the Government e-Marketplace, Documents, Caution Money, Vendor Assessment, Catalogue and Brand Approval, Bids and Reverse Auctions, MSE Purchase Preference, Payment Timelines and the Mistakes That Get Sellers Blacklisted

The Government e-Marketplace, launched on 9 August 2016 under the Ministry of Commerce, is the online platform through which central ministries, departments, PSUs, autonomous bodies and — through MoUs — most state governments buy goods and services. Purchases up to ₹25,000 can be made directly from any seller; up to ₹5 lakh through comparison of at least three sellers (L1); above that through bids or reverse auctions. Because the General Financial Rules make GeM procurement mandatory for goods and services available on it, a registered seller with a good catalogue reaches every government buyer without visiting a single office.

1. 1Primary registration on gem.gov.in → Sign up → Seller: the authorised person's Aadhaar (OTP on the linked mobile) or PAN-based verification, e-mail and mobile; constitution (proprietor, firm, LLP, company, trust, society) with PAN of the entity.
2. 2Business details: Udyam registration number (mandatory to be treated as an MSE; fetched automatically), CIN/LLPIN for companies, GSTIN (mandatory for taxable goods and services; some exempt categories may proceed without), date of incorporation, ITR of the last year (for turnover) and the address.
3. 3Bank account: added and verified by penny-drop; this is the account payments come to.
4. 4Caution money (one-time, refundable): ₹5,000 for turnover below ₹1 crore, ₹10,000 for ₹1–10 crore, ₹25,000 above ₹10 crore — paid before the catalogue can be published; some seller categories (startups, women entrepreneurs, artisans in certain schemes) are exempt or pay less.
5. 5Role: register as an OEM (manufacturer, brand owner or authorised brand representative) or as a reseller/service provider; a reseller needs OEM authorisation ('vendor-OEM linkage') for branded products.
6. 6Vendor assessment: mandatory for OEMs of most product categories (conducted by the Quality Council of India / RITES for a fee of about ₹11,200 plus GST, valid three years); exempt for MSE-registered sellers in many categories, startups and for certain low-value categories — check the category page.
7. 7Optional but valuable: DSC for the authorised person, e-verification of secondary users, and a 'Vendor Assessment' badge that many buyers filter on.

• •Products are listed against GeM's category templates with mandatory specifications; a product outside the template needs a 'new product/category' request.
• •Branded products need brand approval — the brand owner registers the brand with trademark or authorisation proof; resellers list under approved brands with OEM authorisation.
• •Unbranded products, MSE products and 'generic' categories can be listed directly; handicrafts and self-help-group products have special categories.
• •Price: the listed price must be inclusive of GST and be the lowest offered to any government buyer; GeM checks against past transactions and other marketplaces; a seller can be asked to justify.
• •Services: manpower, security, housekeeping, cab hire, consultancy, printing and hundreds of others are listed against service templates with SLA parameters; certifications (PF/ESI registration for manpower, PSARA for security) are captured at listing.
• •Keep stock status, delivery lead time and the pin codes served up to date — an order accepted and not fulfilled hits the seller rating and can lead to debarment.

• •MSE benefits: 25% of annual procurement reserved for MSEs; an MSE quoting within L1 + 15% can match L1 and take the reserved share; exemption from EMD; relaxation of prior-turnover and experience criteria in bids for MSEs and startups where the buyer allows.
• •Make-in-India: purchase preference for Class-I local suppliers (50% or more local content) — declare local content correctly with a CA certificate where the bid asks.
• •Bid documents: technical compliance sheet, catalogue/technical literature, past-performance and turnover certificates (CA-certified with UDIN), Udyam, GST and PAN, authorisation letters, and the ePBG (performance bank guarantee, usually 2–5% of the order) after award.
• •Pay attention to the 'buyer-added' terms and ATC (additional terms and conditions) — they override the general terms and often carry delivery penalties.

1. 1Accept the contract on the portal within the stated time; generate the invoice on GeM (or upload your GST invoice) and dispatch within the delivery period — extensions must be requested before expiry.
2. 2The consignee inspects and issues the Consignee's Receipt and Acceptance Certificate (CRAC) within 10 days of delivery; follow up — no CRAC, no payment.
3. 3Payment is due within 10 days of CRAC (PFMS/treasury); delay attracts interest per the GeM terms and can be escalated through the GeM incident-management system.
4. 4GST: government buyers deduct GST TDS at 2% on taxable value above ₹2.5 lakh (credited to your cash ledger via GSTR-7); income-tax TDS under section 194C/194J/194Q as applicable — reconcile both against 26AS and the GST ledger.
5. 5GeM transaction charges: a small percentage on orders above ₹5 lakh (capped), deducted or invoiced separately — read the current fee schedule on the portal.
6. 6Ratings: on-time delivery, quality and cancellation drive the seller rating shown to buyers; disputes go through the incident-management system; repeated failures lead to suspension or debarment for a period.