GEM REGISTRATION: MEANING AND BENEFITS
The Government of India has introduced a digital e-commerce portal named GeM to enhance transparency and efficiency in the public procurement of Goods & Services for Government Organizations and Departments. The purchases through GeM by Government users have been authorized and made mandatory by the Ministry of Finance by adding a new Rule No. 149 in the General Financial Rules, 2017.
The GeM is a portal for offering and availing the product and services. However, in most cases, the availing portion falls under government organizations and officers. But for the seller part or offering is open to every seller. This leaves us with the conclusion of two types of registration options on GeM:
1. Buyer Registration
2. Seller Registration
I will take Seller Registration in this article, as it is the one that is much more complex. The data available out there is also limited when it comes to Registration for a Seller. Let’s get started with understanding it first.
Seller Registration on GeM
All those sellers who want to sell their product and service to the government organization and departments have to first register themselves on the GeM portal as a seller. There are two categories of sellers or service providers on GeM, one is authorized Seller and the other are OEMs. With the growth of GeM in recent times, OEMs have gained popularity. OEMs are basically Original Equipment Manufacturers who can sell their products through GeM Portal. However there are many things that fall under an OEM. All those are stated below:
1. Manufacturers
2. Brand owners & Third Party manufacturing
3. Importer & Authorised Sellers
4. Service Provider
5. Assemblers
Benefits of Registering as Seller on GeM
1. Drive Business With Ease
2. Direct Access To The Largest Buyers In The Country
3. PAN (Presence Across Nation) India Reach With Minimal Marketing
4. Direct Purchase, Bids, And Reverse Auctions
5. Dynamic Pricing Based On Market Conditions
6. Transparency And Security First, Always
7. Multi-Lingual Support Desk
Documents of Seller Registration Let’s take a look at the documents one should be ready with while registering as a seller and then we will understand about the fees of seller registration in the article.The following documents are needed at the time of registering on GeM portal as a seller.
- PAN (Permanent Account Number)
- CIN (Company Information Number)
- Key Person Validation (Verification of authorized person through Income Tax Return)
- Details of – Registered Office, Billing Address, Factory, Warehouse, other Office Premises
- Bank Details
Process of Seller Registration on GeM (Government e-Marketplace)
Registration on GeM is a completely online process. Since GeM is a portal for both buyer and seller, the documentation and registration are also different for both of them. Two types of account, one is a primary seller and secondary seller account can be created on the Seller account. There will be always one primary Seller and/or Service Provider for a Company.
This primary Seller and/or Service Provider will by default have all privileges assigned to it. Only the Primary Seller and/or Service Provider can create Secondary Seller and/or Service Providers. There can be multiple Secondary Sellers and/or Service Providers for a Company. Secondary Seller and/or Service Providers are roles/privileged based. They can work only as per the assigned role/privilege. It is not mandatory to create a secondary seller, it depends on the needs of the company. Let’s try to understand the process of registration for a primary seller.
WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF SELLER’S GEM REGISTRATION?
By obtaining the GeM Registration, you can truly enjoy the following benefits of smarter trade & commerce as proposed by the government-
Direct Sell: This feature helps the private traders to sell their products of value up to ₹50,000/- at a fair price directly to the government buyers without any hassles.
Assistance to small traders: The traders having GeM registration can take benefit from various trade avenues such as e-bidding, reverse e-auction, and demand aggregation.
Buyers on the GeM Portal
The following organizations can register on the GeM portal as buyers and are authorized to make procurement through the portal:
- Central Government.
- State government ministries.
- State government departments, including its subordinate offices.
- Central and State autonomous bodies.
- Central and state PSUs and local bodies.
The following government officers/head of offices can register their organizations as primary users on the GeM portal:
a. Any officer of
- Central Government.
- State government.
- Public Sector Units (PSU).
- Autonomous bodies, local bodies, constitutional bodies, or statutory bodies at the deputy secretary of government level.
b. Head of the office at sub-center, unit, or branch.
The primary users are responsible for registering their organizations on the GeM portal, but they cannot participate in the procurement. They need to create user accounts for the secondary users, assign them roles and responsibilities and supervise all secondary users’ transactions on the portal. The secondary users are the buyers for the procurement of the organization. However, a primary user can be a consignee to receive a service/product.
The secondary users are officials responsible for procurement on the GeM portal, including receipt of stores, placement of contracts, payment to the sellers, etc. The primary user can give the secondary users the role of a buyer, consignee, Drawing and Disbursing Officer (DDO), paying authority, etc. The buyer is the official responsible for processing procurement transactions till the order placement stage. The consignee will be the secondary user responsible for accepting the goods procured and certifying receipt in the buyer organization.
The secondary users should utilize the GeM portal for the purchases as follows:
- Direct purchase up to Rs.25,000 without comparison (except automobiles) through the suppliers available on the GeM portal meeting the requisite specification, quality, and delivery period.
- L1 purchase through direct purchase for orders above Rs.25,001 up to Rs.5,00,000 through the GeM sellers having the lowest price by comparison between at least three different Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEM) or service providers on the GeM portal meeting the requisite specification, quality, and delivery period.
- Purchases worth more than Rs.5,00,000 can be made on the GeM portal through the supplier having the lowest price meeting the requisite specification, quality, and delivery period. After obtaining bids, the purchases must be made using the reverse auction tool or online bidding provided on the portal (excluding automobiles, where the limit is Rs.30,00,000). The procuring authorities should certify the reasonability of rates.
