GEM (Government e-Market Place) – Seller FAQs

GEM (Government e-Market Place) – Seller FAQs

The Government e-Marketplace (GeM in short form) hosted by DGS&D where common user goods and services can be procured. GeM is dynamic, self-sustaining and user-friendly portal for making procurement by Government officers. GEM (Government e-Market Place) – Seller FAQs

Public procurement forms a very important part of Government activity and reform in Public Procurement is one of the top priorities of the present Government.

GEM Seller FAQs – General FAQs

Why the Seller has to offer a minimum discount on MRP to get a product listed on GeM?

For better Price reasonability across all categories, GeM mandates a minimum discount on MRP during product listing. Therefore, the Seller(s) are required to offer minimum discount on the product(s).

What is Startup Runway?

It is a corner on GeM which provides an opportunity for agile and lean Startups to reach out to government buyers by offering products and services that are unique in concept, design, process and functionality through StartUp Runway corner.

How can a startup register its innovative product/service on Startup Runway?

Startup can register its innovative or unique in concept product/service on StartUp Runway by  uploading the product details in the Seller Dashboard under #Startupindia link. The seller should be DPIIT (Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade) registered startup.

How is vendor rating calculated?

Vendor rating is calculated on the basis of five Parameters as defined in the Vendor Rating Policy. The Five Parameters are:

• Reliability of the Seller/Service Provider
• 2)Quality of the Delivery
• Coverage of the Products in GeM Marketplace
• Timely Delivery of Products/Services
• Incident History

To know more, please refer the vendor rating document available on GeM under ‘Resources->Sellers/service providers’.

Does my Incident History have any impact on my vendor Rating?

Yes, the Incident history of Suspended & Disabled Sellers/Service Provider would negatively impact the Vendor rating . Please refer the Vendor rating document for more details.

To whom is the vendor rating displayed?

The Vendor rating is displayed to the Buyers & Sellers on GeM Marketplace.

How does Business Cockpit work?

Business Cockpit offers a range of value added services to the OEMs on GeM related to the statistics and insights of their categories. Business Cockpit enables businesses to get deeper insights like value and volume of the business, re-seller data, Buyer information, coverage analysis etc.

What prominent features does Business Cockpit provide?

Business Cockpit has been rolled out with Premium OEM Dashboard version. OEMs can subscribe to the Premium Dashboard version and have access to insights related to all the category data, granular level order details, month wise business trends at re-seller level , category Insights, catalog coverage, information on Bid/RA win / loss analysis along with the data export feature enabling OEMs to slice and dice data for greater business understanding.

What is Caution Money?

This caution money provision is being introduced for bringing discipline among sellers. All Sellers on GeM would be required to deposit a fixed amount with GeM as Caution Money deposit.

Who will Pay Caution Money?

The Caution Money is to be paid by all Registered Sellers of GeM .

How much is to be paid towards Caution Money?

All sellers on GeM are required to deposit a one-time amount as under as caution money:

1. Seller Turnover less than 1 Crore: Rs 5,000/-
2. Seller Turn over > 1 Crore but < 10 Crore: Rs 10,000/-
3. Seller Turnover > 10 Crore: Rs 25,000/-

To whom would the caution money be paid?

The Caution Money paid by Seller will remain at the disposal of GeM SPV.

How should I pay the caution money?

The Caution Money is to be paid online through GeM Portal.  The user Manual for the online modality can be viewed at following Link – Caution Money.

What if I do not pay the caution money?

If you fail to deposit the caution money amount, following actions will be taken / initiated against you:

• You will not be able to upload any new brand / products on GeM.
• You will not be able to participate in any new Bid.
• You will not be able to get any new DP/L1/BID/RA order.

Are there any exemptions to any category of sellers?

There are no exemptions. All sellers registered on GeM must pay the Caution Money.

For which deviations  would caution  money get deducted?

This caution money  amount can be forfeited in part or in full (as per approval of CEO (GeM)) in following circumstances:

• Seller rejects or does not accept any Direct Purchase / L-1 Purchase order within defined timelines leading to auto cancellation of order.
• Failure of the seller in executing any GeM contract or if the Seller fails or neglects to observe or perform any of his obligations under the contract (applicable only in respect of contracts that did not have provision of Performance Security / PBG).
• Withdraws any bid submitted on GeM within the period of validity of the bid.
• Fails to furnish requisite performance security / PBG as per GeM e-bid / RA conditions.

Where can I find the Caution Money policy?

The Caution Money policy is available in GeM GTC. Please refer to clause 27 of GeM GTC to view the Caution Money Policy.

What are the various modes to verify a document on GeM?

The document/transactions on GeM can be verified using OTP, e-sign or Digital signature.

Which documents/transactions can be verified by e-sign or Digital signature?

The following documents can be verified:

• Bid/RA publishing by Buyer
• Bid/RA participation by Seller
• Bid Corrigendum Publishing by Buyer
• Contract generation by Buyer
• Contract/amended contract acceptance by Seller
• Invoice generation/regeneration by Seller
• CRAC generation by Consignee
• Bill generation by Buyer

Is e-sign different from Digital signature and how can these be availed?

Both e-sign and Digital sign allow signing a document or transaction.

• To perform e-sign the user has to register on e-mudhra using their PAN or Aadhar. To register on e-mudhra, pls copy and paste the below link in your browser:
• https://esign.e-mudhra.com/UI/subscriptionPlanNewUser.jsp?src=2cba53be42b24a2792ab0
• To perform Digital signature, the user has to buy the signature certificate and token from the CCA certified agency. The embridge application must also be installed and running on the user system. To install the application, please copy and paste the below link in your URL and download the installer as per your operating system.
• https://embridge.emudhra.com/

Is it mandatory to e-sign or digitally sign the transactions on GeM? 

You can choose to either verify transactions using esign/ Digital Sign Capability(DSC) or you can continue to use OTP. However the OTP feature is being supported for a limited time and would be decommissioned later. You should get either e-sign or DSC. 

GEM Seller FAQs – Profile Validations

What should I do, when “Key Person” validation fails?

“Key Person” validation fails, when user’s “Aadhaar Name” & “Name of Authorized person in the Income Tax Return (ITR)”are different e.g. If “Aadhaar Name” used during registration is Mr. Z and Company/ Firm ITR signing Authority’s Name is Mr. X, then validation will fail. As per GEM rules, both names should be same.

What should I do , if some other person’s name is mentioned in the Company/ Firm ITR?

There is an option in Seller Profile to “Update Aadhaar”; User can update Aadhaar details of ITR authorized signatory & his/her mobile number ,which is linked with Aadhaar & Verify. Once new Aadhaar is updated, “Key Person” validation may be performed again.On Aadhaar update, PAN Validation has to be reverified.

What should I do in case I get error of Office Locations’ mismatch?

Your Office Locations’ address should be same as the address mentioned in Income Tax Return (ITR). To rectify this error, the mandatory fields in the address are to be updated as per the address mentioned in Income Tax Return (ITR).

What should I do if I am not able to update profile due to “MSE Verification” failure?

This happens, when your UAM number has not been validated. To rectify this error, you will have to click on the checkbox “Are you registered with MSME?”, enter UAM number then provide Mobile number / Aadhaar number (registered with UAM at the time of applying MSME).

How to make a “Bank Account Number” as “Primary” for receiving payments?

The seller can provide multiple Bank Account Numbers but only one can be marked as “Primary” by clicking on the corresponding checkbox labeled “Is Primary Account”. This Bank Account will be used for receiving payments once verified by PFMS.

How can I rectify my organisation “Constitution Type”?

To change “Constitution Type” of your organisation, You need to visit “My Account” and click on Change Constitution Type. Kindly note that Change Constitution Type is allowed only once. On updation of Constitution Type, all the verification will have to be done again to complete your Profile.

What should I do, when “PAN Validation” fails?

“PAN Validation” fails when user’s “Aadhaar Name” & “Name of Authorized person in the Income Tax Return (ITR)”are different e.g. If “Aadhaar Name” used during registration is Mr. Z and Company/ Firm ITR signing Authority’s Name is Mr. X, then validation will fail. As per GEM rules, both names should be same. GEM (Government e-Market Place) – Seller FAQs