The Government e-marketplace, or GeM, is a portal maintained by the central government of India for the acquisition of products and services by government entities. Public procurement has long been an important aspect of government operations. The government's goal in implementing GeM was to improve openness and effectiveness in procurement contracts. GeM delivers e-bidding, reversing e-auction, and demands gathering technologies to help government customers get the most bangs for their buck. Sole proprietors, associations, limited liability partnering, private companies, public corporations, overseas subsidiary companies, and other organisations can enrol their businesses on the GeM portal.
Did you know?
The purchases in the GeM portal are authorised by the Ministry of Finance, governed by the Central Government of India.
What is GeM Registration?
The Government E-Marketplace, or GeM, is an electronic procurement website for numerous government agencies, organisations, and public sector companies in India.
The creation of GeM was to increase openness in government expenditures, increase efficiency, and expedite procurement.
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Government E-marketplace Overview
The Committee of Secretaries has offered a proposal to the Honourable Prime Minister of India, and the result of the proposal was the formation of a Government E-Marketplace. The Government E-Marketplace is continuously being built, and the Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals and the National e-Governance Division of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology assess it on regular bases. In the initial phase, the GeM pilot program begins from the Central Government Bodies and CPSUs in Delhi/NCR. The site has been expanding to other regions of the nation by using best practices and lessons learned.
Products & Services Sold on Government E-marketplace
Electronic goods such as photocopiers, scanners, air conditioners, projectors, computers, desktops, tablets, and computer peripherals such as mice, printers, keyboards, and pen drives are all sold on this platform.
Selling to the Government
If you want to buy something from the Government E-Marketplace, you can do it with the aid of a central government-approved agent. / state government / undertakings of the public sector/ independent entities. To enrol in the GeM portal, one must provide different information, and these are as follows:
- Aadhar Card Number
- Contact Information
- E-mail id
- Signature using digital means (Class 3)
- One should produce a letter of permission from the appropriate department in which they are purchasing.
Purchasing Powers of Government Officers
Any approved official making purchases of up to ₹50000 can acquire an item from any of the existing providers on the GeM, as long as the grade, specifications, and delivery terms are met. In the event of purchases over ₹50000, the Government body shall select the provider with the cheapest cost among the various vendors on the GeM while satisfying the required quality, specifications, and delivery duration. GeM has also offered facilities for electronic auctions and digital reversal auctions that the buyer can use.
Seller Registration
Any seller that manufactures, advertises, or provides legitimate items or services may become a vendor on the GeM portal. Vendors should have the complete and necessary documentation to finish the enrollment with Government E-Marketplace. The required documents include:
- PAN CARD
- Udyog Aadhaar, or Company or LLP Registration
- TIN/VAT Number (if applicable)
- Bank account and accompanying papers for KYC
- Identification and residence verification
- Copy of a cancelled check
Procedure for Registration
You will become a vendor on the GeM by using one of two links on the website. There is one link for manufacturers or traders and another for service providers. Click on the link that applies to you and finish the GeM portal registration process.
The signup process is straightforward, and once completed, you will have a user ID and passcode to access the seller account. The supplier or service provider may publish the items or services they offer, as well as their price, using the seller account. The vendor is able to establish the product’s price based on their pricing terms. However, it is critical to include in the total price the details of the expense of logistical support, wrapping, taxation, obligations, and so on, as well as appropriate profitability to turn up at the Sales Price on all-inclusive grounds, implying the proportion of Import Duty, Service Charges, and CST/VAT as relevant, with delivering on-site charges.
Order Management
After completing seller enrollment and posting, the vendor will begin accepting orders via the vendor dashboard. GeM will give you an email notification whenever a consumer submits a purchase, and you can control orders via the GeM portal directly. The seller must package the goods and send them to the customer on schedule upon receiving an order. The vendor should ensure that the items reach the destination securely.
Payment Settlement
Payments for products or services purchased via the Government E-Marketplace shall be sent immediately to the vendor's bank account via internet banking, after 10 days of receipt and confirmation of receiving the products or services or after the 10 days returning period expires.
Advantages of Selling on the Government E-marketplace
The Indian government is among the country's top purchasers of products and services, investing thousands of rupees. However, because of the formalities and payment delays, many SMEs and entrepreneurs in India are unable to sell to the government. The GeM, or Government E-Marketplace, attempts to disrupt the present system and replace it with a fast and safe method for government purchasing.
- Gaining Access to the National Government Procurement Marketplace is pretty simple as a vendor.
- Entrepreneurs and MSMEs can find what they want quickly, and bazaar items have special provisions and divisions to start their sales.
- A platform that is completely online, transparent, contactless, and paperless.
- A single request may generate many invoices.
- Participation in bids/reverse auctions is simple.
- The vendors come to know all the causes of the rejections of their products in a detailed way.
- Seller-friendly panel for inventory and payment tracking
- Sellers from the North-East and J&K are exempted from paying Income tax returns during the period of bidding involvement.
- Dynamic pricing entails changing the cost based on market circumstances.
- Direct contact with government agencies and organisations
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Advantages of GeM Registration for Buyers
- It provides clarity and convenience of purchase.
- Direct buy up to ₹25,000
- Level1 buy larger than ₹25,000 but a smaller amount than ₹5 lakhs
- Price Trends and Comparisons from Various Suppliers are available on the portal itself
- Sellers receive direct alerts, and it uses a unified payment processor.
- It can assign services to several receivers.
- Customers have the opportunity to terminate the Item agreement even if the bill has been produced by the vendor 15 days after the delivery time has passed.
Vendor Assessment
The purpose of a supplier evaluation is to identify the quality of goods or services they provide to their customers. The system enters the evaluation into GeM rankings, and the labelling of goods is validated, and this is a clarification factor that the customer may use in their purchase decision-making process. This will assist purchasers in making more informed judgments about products.
It is a must for all GeM vendors. One part of supplier verification is supplier evaluation, which is required for specific vendors. To take possession of the items and services they supply, a vendor first must enrol on the GeM website, then display goods, and the last step is to start setting up an original equipment manufacturer (OEM).
Non-manufacturing OEMs that are trademark proprietors but do not produce their own goods can nevertheless assert OEM designation if they have contracting manufacturing agreements with other producers. Throughout vendor evaluation, such OEMs must furnish the evaluating agency with the agreement/understanding between the original equipment manufacturers and the Contract Manufacturer. This will be used to extract insights about the Contract Manufacturer's possession of the production plant, production capabilities, quality of product issues, and access to raw materials, among other things.
Conclusion
In the nation, the GeM website is a relatively new phenomenon. It is indigenous and ever-changing. It is a competitive framework with several benefits. It offers full end-to-end solutions, including a frictionless, paperless, and transparent procurement chain, with customer-friendly characteristics that encourage engagement from all parties involved in the portal.
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