Before we dive into the guide, it is important to know about the gem portal itself and why the necessity appeared. What was the thought behind it, and how will it help MSMEs and Indian manufacturing industries?

1. What is GeM?
2. Benefit of GeM registration
3. Process and Cost of seller GeM registration
4. Listing of brand on GeM Portal
5. Listing of Products on GeM Portal
6. Procurement procedure on GeM Portal
7. Why choose us 
8. Conclusion

What is GeM?

Gem stands for government e-marketplace portal, established to facilitate online public procurement from various sellers listed on the portal. GeM aims to enhance the transparency, efficiency and speed of procurement procedures.

Why MSMEs should opt for GeM portal registration?

Vendors are required to register themselves free of cost on the portal. However, applicants must submit a cautionary fee and vendor assessment fee to acquire the original equipment manufacturer (OEM) status.

Once the vendor assessment is completed, sellers and service providers must list their brands, products, and services on the marketplace.

Is there any benefit of having Gem portal registration?

The government of India is one of the biggest buyers of goods from micro, small and medium industries (MSMEs) in the country through public procurement. Earlier procurements were subject to various allegations and ambiguity.

Nevertheless, since the inception of the government e-marketplace, allotment of tenders and bidding for procurement have been more transparent, efficient and corruption free.

These are the following benefits sellers and manufacturers can get after opting for GeM portal registration.

• Access to Pan India market
• Multiple invoices for orders
• Security against delayed payme
• Dynamic pricing based on marketnt
• Participate in the reverse auction or bidding
• Easy access to Government entities and departments
• Benefit for sellers from North-eastern states and Jammu and Kashmir

Process of sellers registration on GeM Portal

Step 1

Create a seller account on GeM : Creating a GeM seller account is the primary step for manufacturers and sellers. The registration on GeM should only be done by an authorized person or key person of their respective entities.

Step-2

Updation of organisational profile : Once the creation of the seller account is complete, applicants are required to update their organizational profile, such as PAN validation, Company Details, address verification and bank account detail of the organization.

Once the primary setup of the GeM profile is done, firms must deposit caution money respectively as per their turnover.

Sellers turnover	Caution money fees
Less than Rs. 1 crore	₹5,000/-
Turnover between Rs. 1-10 crores	₹10,000/-
Turnover more than Rs. 10 crores	₹25,000/-

Seller’s GeM vendor assessment

After the deposition of caution money, sellers are required to apply for Gem vendor assessment. All sellers must apply for assessment to participate in public procurement of Q1 & Q2 category products.

Vendors also have to pay the assessment fee of Rs. 11,200 + GST.

The assessment carried out by QCI in 2 stages.

1. Desktop assessment: Sellers are required to submit mandatory documents in this process. Quality control of India (QCI) verifies data and documents of the entit.The objective is to understand the process, such as the entity’s a manufacturing/assembling process, policies, function and performance.
2. Video assessment: Once the desktop assessment is completed. QCI moves on to validate the information through video assessment. The auditor of QCI conducts it through a mobile-based app.

The vendor needs to pass this step to obtain their OEM status to list thier brand on the Gem portal for public procurement.

Listing of brands on GeM portal

Once the assessment process is fulfilled, all the sellers must list their brands and products on the portal. Listing the brand is an important step as it provides MSMEs an edge.

The brands can be listed as:

1. Trademarks registered
2. Brands owner but not registered under trademark
3. Unbranded

Listing of products and services on GeM

Once the brand listing is completed. All the vendors/sellers and service providers are required to list their product and service categorically on the government e-marketplace (GeM Portal). Once the products are listed on the portal it will be live for public procurement.

Steps to list Product on the GeM portal

Step-1:  Basic information regarding the product such as:

1. Category & sub-category of the Product
2. Name of the Product
3. Description of the Product
4. Brand of the Product
5. Product model
6. HSN number & SKU ID

Step-2:  Availability/quantity of the product:

Sellers are required to provide information regarding the availability or quantity of the Product.

This will help government buyers place an order and make their purchase according to availability and requirement.

Step-3: Pricing of the Products/service:

Vendors on the government e-marketplace/GeM portal must provide their pricing details per the asked guidelines.

1. Maximum retail price (MRP) of the Product
2. Offered price, including all taxes on the GeM portal, by the authorized GeM vendor. (The offered price should be atleast 10% less than the MRP)

Step-4: Details of the products:

1.   Size 
2. Height 
3. Weight 
4. Dimension 
5. Quality
6. Color 
7. Usages

Vendors can also provide additional details regarding their products if necessary.

Step-5: Pictorial representation of Products listed on GeM:

Sellers need to upload a clear picture of their Product on the portal. The image must give a clear view of the Product. This will help buyers to recognize the Product before procurement.

Procurement procedure of GeM portal

As per the guidelines of general financial rule (GFR-149), government agencies can procure from GeM in the following ways:

1. Direct purchase: According to the GFR rule-149, government agencies can directly purchase from the GeM portal within the limit of INR 25,000.
2. L1 purchase: L1 purchase stands for lowest purchase. It is initiated when the procurement order is Rs more than 25,000 but less than 5,00,000. Per the said guidelines, buyers must select atleast 3 vendors and choose the one with the lowest offered price
3. Public procurement via tender : If the purchase order is more than 5,00,000. In such cases, procurement can only be done through public procurement/Tender via government e-Marketplace.

Professional Utilities: Your Gem portal registration Guide

The GeM portal registration and vendor assessment process includes various compliances and information. It is advised to seek an expert to apply for a certificate to avoid rejection during the QCI vendor assessment for the GeM.

Professional Utilities will help you avoid any hassle. Follow the steps below:

1. Call 
2. Provided the necessary documents 
3. Get portal registration within 2 days, excluding vendor assessment, which is subject to QCI’s assessment process.

Conclusion:

GeM initiative provides a fair market opportunity to micro, small and medium manufacturing and service industries.

MSMEs can take immense advantage by registering themselves on the GeM portal and be eligible to get government tenders, bidding, and purchase orders.

The bidding process on GeM is transparent and unbiased, providing small industries with an equal opportunity to function.