To encourage more public participation and bring more transparency in the procurement of goods and services in India through direct purchase by Government/ Ministries /Departments of Central/State Governments from manufacturers/service providers directly clearly and transparently, the Government of India launched a unique Government E-Marketplace (GeM) portal on 9th of Aug 2016. At present, there are as many as 4,129,625 products listed on the platform by 3528860 sellers.

The GeM portal holds complete control and ownership of the marketplace through a Special Purpose Vehicle, a non-profit company formed under the administration of the Ministry of Commerce & Industries, Central Government of India.

Features of GeM Registration in India-

  • The GeM portal is an online, contact-less, and paper-less marketplace that enables the buyers (Government Ministries/departments) to purchase goods or procure services from sellers in India who have registered themselves and listed their products/ services or both on the portal effectively and transparently;
  • The GeM online marketplace has replaced the Directorate General of Supplies & Disposal in 2016 has transformed the whole aspect of public procurement relying on its three pillars namely the-
    1. Inclusion,
    2. Usability & Transparency; and
    3. Efficiency and Cost Savings.
  • It acts as a one-stop-shop to facilitate and enable easy online procurement of the consumer goods & services that are needed by various government sectors.
  • It shall be compulsory for every seller and buyer to register themselves on the portal for being able to access the online marketplace. Further, the Government of India has made it compulsory for each seller to provide their “Country of origin” during the registration process and display the same on the portal.
  • For easing the process of procurement of goods or services, the GeM portal offers multiple tools such as e-bidding, reverse e-auction, and demand aggregation to facilitate the government users, to achieve the best value for their money.
  • The GeM portal eliminates the human interface in vendor registration, allows the buyer to purchase goods in bulk which may be either through direct purchase or through an online auction, which allows the Government of India to extend its support towards smaller businesses and start-ups who can provide better products at reasonable prices.
  • As the GeM portal is an open and transparent platform, there are no entry barriers for the sellers to be registered on the portal. On every step, both parties are notified through SMS and e-mail notifications for each transaction that takes place on the platform.
  • GeM portal allows flexibility for every buyer to search, compare and select from the variety of products available on the platform which provides for details such as product specifications, quantities, and other important details for each required product. Further, the seller can list the products, keep a check on the supplies, payments, and price changes as per the requirements and changing needs of the market.

GeM Registration

GeM Portal Registration in India

Every seller or buyer who wishes to list their products on the platform needs to register themselves either as a “Seller” or a “Buyer” respectively by making an online application along with the prescribed documents and fees, i.e. commonly known as GeM registration.

Eligibility for GeM Registration in India

Provided below is the eligibility criteria for GeM registration in India-

  • Any of the following can access the portal to register themselves as a Seller or Buyer that includes-
    • Sole Proprietorship Firm
    • Partnership Firm
    • Limited Liability Partnership,
    • Private Limited Company,
    • Public Limited Company,
    • Foreign Subsidiary Company, etc.
  • Such Seller may be either an original manufacturer or a Reseller. However, for the registration as a “Reseller”, an applicant shall be required to get an authorization letter from an Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) for any particular category of products.
  • For GeM Registration in India, Original Equipment Manufacturers have been categorized into the following five categories-
    • Manufacturers
    • Brand Owners & Third-Party Manufacturers
    • Importer & Authorised Sellers
    • Service Providers
    • Assemblers

Process of GeM Seller registration

Process of GeM Seller registration in India

  • Log on to the Gem Portal by accessing the website (https://gem.gov.in/) and create a login id and password for logging purposes by providing an Aadhaar number, mobile, and e-mail id.
  • In the next step, move to the main page and click “Seller Registration” or Buyer Registration, where a seller can either himself as an “OEM” or a “Reseller”;
  • Next, the manufacturer/reseller will be required to go through the vendor assessment for their authenticity and due diligence purposes.
  • Once the GeM registration authority verifies all the requirements for registration, it may approve registration and allow the listing of seller products.
  • Once the seller receives listing approval, the manufacturer/reseller/service provider may list their products/services on the GeM portal. After listing products/services on the portal, the manufacturers/reseller/service provider concerned will be able to view them on the portal to be procured/purchased by the buyer.

Eligibility Criteria for Buyer Registration in India-

  • Following persons will be eligible to register themselves as a ‘buyer’ for the purposes of GeM registration in India-
    • Ministries/Departments under the Central Government.
    • Ministries/Department under the State Government
    • State government departments or their subordinate offices.
    • Autonomous bodies under Central/ State Govt;
    • PSUs under the Central and State;
    • Local bodies.
  • However, any one of the following authorities must be registered as the primary user and shall not be allowed to participate in the process of procurement-

Any officer under

  • Central Government.
  • State government.
  • Public Sector Units (PSU).
  • Any autonomous body or local body
  • Constitutional or statutory bodies at the deputy secretary level;
  • Head of the office of any sub-center/ unit/ branch.

Process of Buyer Registration in India-

  • The online marketplace shall be accessed by the primary user (buyer) by logging on to the website https://gem.gov.in/ and registering themselves through their Aadhaar number, phone number, and e-mail id and creating a “Buyer Account” on the portal.
  • Once login id and password are created log on to the portal click the “User” button and further click “Add user”. Fill in the requisite details of the secondary user and click the “Add user” button.
  • Once a profile for a secondary user is created, he can view the listed products and services and purchase/procure the same, depending upon his requirement.

Documents Required

  • For Seller Registration

Those sellers who wish to sell their products/services on the GeM online portal need to register these documents at the time of registration-

PAN related details of the organization concerned;

CIN number or registration number of the organization;

    • Details and verification of the Key Person authorized by the organization;
    • Details of the registered office of the organization including other places such as warehouses, factories, billing address, or any other similar premises;
    • Bank details of the organization;
    • Copy of the Cancelled cheque;
  • For Buyer Registration-

For a person to be registered as a buyer on the portal, the following details shall be required-

    • Aadhaar Number of the primary user
    • Mobile number
    • Official e-mail address
    • Copy of the Authorisation letter from their department;

Benefits of registering on GeM Portal in India

  • Encourages Public Participation in Govt. Tenders- The primary objective behind GeM registration in India is to ensure more public participation through a transparent process. Thus, it encourages public participation in Govt. tenders by allowing sellers access to the national market procurement market.
  • User-Friendly Dashboard- For the convenience of the sellers and buyers in India, new user–friendly features have been made available with options such as e-bidding, auction, payment, contract management, etc.
  • iii. Benefits for Buyer to purchase/procure products/services-

Not only the GeM registration is beneficial for sellers in India, but it is also beneficial for buyers in India in many ways including-

    • Allows buyers to get the best products/services at reasonable prices through e-bidding among more than three lakhs sellers;
    • Allows a longer bid duration between 10-21 days;
    • Allows Pin-Code based seller selection for direct purchases;
    • ATC library available for the addition of terms and conditions;
    • Offers additional deductions to the buyers at the time of bill generation
  • Complete Online Security- The GeM portal ensures complete online security throughout the process of procurement including all the documents are verified and e-signed electronically at each stage. Similarly, before every seller registration, the details of each seller are verified for authenticity and due diligence for every seller registration.
  • Benefits for SSIs & Start-ups- The GeM portal offers multiple benefits for Small scale Industries & start-ups in India such as-
    • Transparency & Ease of buying
    • Direct purchases up to Rs. ₹25,000
    • L1 purchases for amounts between ₹25,000 – 5 Lakhs rupees.
    • Allows price comparisons and price trends between Multiple Suppliers
    • Integrated Payment System & notifications to suppliers directly.
  • Effective Grievance Redressal Mechanism – Allows for online grievance redressal mechanism for quick disputes resolution for sellers/buyers.
  • Easier Brand approvals mechanism- For the purposes of brand application and brand approval, the GeM portal has been revamped for sellers.
  • Completely paperless and in online mode- The process of GeM registration in India has been made the completely online and paperless procedure for bidding/reverse auction.
  • Provision for J&K and the North-East States- For sellers belonging to North-East states and J&K have been exempted from the requirement of submitting ITRs at the time of participation in the bidding process.
  • Upholds Fair Participation- For ensuring there is fair participation in the e-bidding/auction/RA process, the GeM, at least 3 sellers have participated and offered products from at least 2 different OEM. In case the purchaser wishes to move forward with lesser than 3 Resellers or lesser than two OEMs or Brands, the buyer shall not move forward unless he obtains permission from the competent authority.
  • Introduction of new features for OEMs- For the convenience of the OEMs, the GeM portal has introduced newer features which include additional enhanced parameters in the existing report as well as new chart widgets in accordance with the OEM & MAIT recommendations.

Govt fees for Gem Registration in India

Caution Money Deposit (for sellers) Fee
i. Holding a Turnover lesser than 1 Crore Rs. 5,000/-
ii. Holding a Turnover in between 1-10 Crores Rs 10,000/-
iii. Holding a Turnover above 10 Crores Rs 25,000/-
iv. Vendor Assessment Fees Rs. 11,200 + GST

Conclusion

Therefore, the GeM registration in India is an effective process of procurement/RA/e-bidding, which allows public participation, fairly and transparently without prescribing any class or category of individuals or business entities, and at the same time buyer in India gets the benefit of having thousands of options to purchase goods or procure services after careful assessment regarding the product/service and manufacturing business entity, which eliminates possibility of corruption and frauds.