By Every business owner wants to produce good revenue through sales. In this digital era, one of the best routes to do so is to register on buying and selling platforms and reach out to customers globally. However registering on shopping portals can be a time-consuming process, hence we wanted to bring you the fastest possible method.
One of the trending and leading portals for sellers is the Government e-Marketplace. You must have heard or read about it, haven’t you? Let’s talk briefly about Government E-Marketplace.
Overview of Government e-Marketplace
Government e-Marketplace (GeM) is a digital portal where government buyers and sellers can purchase and sell goods and services quickly and securely.
This portal was founded on August 9th, 2016, by the Department of Trade and Industry of the Government of India. Before the launch of GeM, these transactions were handled through the General Directorate for Utilities and Disposal (DGS&D).
The Ministry of Finance controls purchases and sales by government users through the GeM. The exchanges are honoured and obligatory under Rule No. 149 in the General Financial Rules, 2017. GeM is adopted by SPV (Special Purpose Vehicle).
It is a 100% non-profit and government-owned organisation under the Department of Trade and Industry of the Government of India. It has partnered with several banks and ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems for payment services.
In this blog, we will focus on sellers. So, for registering as a seller on the GeM, you must have the required eligibility.
- Eligibility to be a seller on GeM
- Steps for Registering on GeM
- Order Management GeM
- Roles and Responsibilities of a Seller on GeM
Eligibility of a Seller on GeM
- If you are one of the following, you are eligible to be a seller on the GEM portal.
- Proprietary firm
- Partnership firm
- Limited Liability Partnership
- Private Limited Company
- Public Limited Company
- Registered society
- Statutory bodies
- You must be an Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM). In other words, you manufacture components and elements used by other companies in their finished products or end products.
- Also, you must have the authorization to sell OEM products.
Let’s move on to understand how to register as a seller on the GEM portal. We will take you through a step-by-step process to make things easy. The exciting part about this guide is that we will explain everything with the help of pictures.
Steps for Registering as a Seller on GeM
There are a few steps that you need to follow to register yourself on GEM as a seller. They are as follows –
Step 1 – Creating Account
- Visit the Government Site of GeM – https://gem.gov.in/.
- Click on the Signup option at the top of the page and select Seller from the drop-down menu.
- New page Create Your Organisation Seller Account opens.
- Click on the Review Terms and Conditions. A pdf of terms and conditions will open up, read it, and agree to the Terms and Conditions.
- Fill in all the required details asked in the other form.
- After filling in all the details, the Activation mail will be sent to your email. Use it to log in to the Seller Desk.
Step 2 – Documents Required
- PAN or Aadhaar Number
- Business Information
- Office location
- GST (Mandatory)
- Bank Account
- E-voicing criteria
- MSME Registration (Optional)
- ITR (For Bid Participation)
- Startup (Yes/No)
- DoE Order Compliance
Step 3 – Link your Bank Account
Make sure you create a bank account that links to the GeM portal. Your money will be deposited here. This account will handle all other transactions.
Step 4 – List Products and Services On Dashboard
Once you register on GeM, the next step is to list your products and services on the Dashboard. You can add the products in the new category or to the existing one.
Step 5 – GeM Seller Registration Charges
You don’t need to pay any amount for registration, but you must deposit some caution money. The amounts vary as per the turnover of the seller.
Order Management
After completing seller registration and listing, the seller will start receiving orders through the seller dashboard. Wherever a customer places an order, GeM will send you an e-mail alert and orders can be managed through the GeM portal itself. After receiving the order, it’s the seller’s responsibility to pack the item and deliver it to the buyer on time. It is the seller’s responsibility to deliver the products safely to the consignee.
Advantages For Sellers
- Direct access to all Government departments.
- One stop shop for marketing with minimal efforts.
- One stop shop for bids / reverse auction on products / services
- New Product Suggestion facility available to Sellers
- Dynamic pricing: Price can be changed based on market conditions
- Seller friendly dashboard for selling and monitoring of supplies and payments
- Consistent and uniform purchase procedures
ROLE and RESPONSIBILITIES Of a Seller on GeM
Role,ResponsibilitiesandObligationsofSeller/Buyer:
A. RoleandResponsibilitiesofSellersonGeMareasunder:
i. Only Director (s) / Partner (s) / Proprietor (as applicable) are authorized to become Primary User and
registeranylegal entityonGeMasSeller.
ii. Once Seller/Service Provider is registered and account is created on GeM, the Primary user of the
Seller/ServiceProvider cancreateSecondaryUser Accounts within Seller/Service Provider Organization
with different Roles and Responsibilities.However, the PrimaryUser creating SecondaryUser accounts
shall continue to be fully responsible and accountable for all actions / transactions done by Secondary
Users onGeM Portal.
iii. Since GeM is a trust based Portal, the complete accuracy and integrity of data submitted in respect of
the Seller and also in respect of the Goods / ServicesofferedonGeMwillbethe soleresponsibilityofthe
Seller/Service Provider. Sellerwillbe liable for administrative action asperGeM terms and conditions in
case of any discrepancy / infirmity in any data / information submitted onGeM.
iv. The Primary / Secondary Users of Sellers, offering Goods/Services and/or participating in e-Bidding /
Reverse Auction on GeM, must ensure that they have the requisite authorization to enter into contract
with Buyer(s) in GeM for and on behalf of the Seller, failing which such Seller as well as the
individual(s)shallbevicariouslyliableforitsactionsandalsoforanyliability arising out of such actions.
v. Seller can offer any number of products. However, it will be the sole responsibility of the seller to
satisfy themselves regarding possessing the requisites for doing business for the offered product(s).
The Sellers are solely responsible for ensuring that there is no violation of any Intellectual Property
Rights intheiroffer for sell /providing service onGeM.
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vi. The Seller should not exercise any corrupt influence on any aspect of contract and commit to take all
measures necessary to prevent corruption maintaining complete transparency, integrity and fairness
in all activities related toGeM.
vii. The seller would represent its business on the GeM portal and is mandated to comply with all the terms
and conditions of the platform. Sellers would be solely and absolutely responsible for the information
provided about their organization, business, products and services on the portal and would be required
to produce proof of such information, if requested at any point in time by theBuyer and /orGeM.
viii. GeM would not allow creation of any fresh data related to Seller identity on GeM portal. All details
provided by the Seller at the time of registration would be counter checked / verified through other
data bases of Government such as PAN, MCA 21, Udyog Aadhaar etc. For Financial details, PAN / Income tax
Database shall be primary validating database and will override any conflicting data in any other
database. If the data / details entered by the seller while registering on GeM is not verified with
validating databases, registration will not be allowed. Further, in case of any conflict in details after
registration, Seller’s registration would be automatically suspended. It is the Seller’s responsibility to
keep all their information on GeM updated with the latest change(s). Non-updating of details on GeM
within7daysofsuchoccurrencewouldmakeSellerliableforadministrative actions.
ix. Eligibility of Sellers in terms of Turn Over / Past Performance / Profitability etc. and also their
eligibility for availing various benefits /advantages in terms of various Govt. Policies / Guidelines /
Acts / Laws etc. shall be determined solely on the basis of data fetched / validated or verified
throughexternalagency/ownerofthatsetofdatabasesuchasIncomeTax
/ PAN Data Base, MCA 21, Udyog Aadhaar, GSTN, Certifying Agencies such as BIS, BEE etc. In case of any
discrepancy in data available in these databases, Seller has to getthe same updated in the corresponding
validating database before updating the same on GeM. Till such time only the existing validated
informationshallbeusedtodecideseller’s eligibilityonGeM.Anydefaultin sellers updating their data on
partner sites / validating databases and any fall out of the same impacting adversely any transaction
on GeM, shall entirely and exclusively be Seller’s responsibility. GeM shall not be responsible for any
consequential impact on any GeM transaction due to data discrepancy and / or suspension of seller
account due to data discrepancy. Sellerwill be solely responsible for thesame.
x. The Seller shall be solely responsible for the Goods / Services including, without limitation, the
applicable guarantee / warranty, shelf-life, quantity, quality and the title and for giving the correct and
accurate details of the offer their Goods and / or /Services indicating product specifications, quantity
which can be supplied over the specified time period, etc. as per catalogue or catalogue based template
prescribed in GeM. Seller would ensure that the Goods or /Services offered are latest, new and complete
in all respects. Where Seller is selling any Goods which needs spare parts, Seller should ensure and
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make available such spare parts for a minimum period of three years from the date of expiry of
warrantee period (unless otherwise specified). The individual Sellers shall ensure that the products
offered in e-Bidding and/or ordered shall remain available on GeM during the bid / contract validity
period.
xi. Sellers shall offer minimum discount of 10% on the Maximum Retail Price (MRP) mandatorily (unless
otherwisespecifiedforofferingtheirproductson GeM).Sellersarefreetoofferhigherdiscounts.TheSeller
must offer its lest possible lowest price to GeM and undertake that it would not sell or offer to sell the
same product in comparable quantity at a price equal to or lower than Offer Price on GeM. In case any
suchinfringementbySellerisnoticed, the Seller shallbe liable to be removed/ debarred from theGeM.
xii. Byoffering theirproduct onGeM,the Seller agrees for sharing pricedetails of the offered Goods / Service
by GeM authorities with other Government agencies includingDepartmentofExcise&Customs,Income
tax,GSTetc.
xiii. Listing of Goods / Services in irrelevant / inappropriate categories is strictly prohibited. If any such
infringement made by Seller leads to placement of a contract by any Buyer for such inappropriately
offered product(s)/service(s) by the Seller, such contract shall be treated as null and void. No claim
whatsoeveragainst suchcontractshallbeadmissibleandentertained.
xiv. The Seller(s) shall pass on all the benefits associated with any scheme / offer / freebies provided by
the OEM on any product from time to time on an”as-isbasis”totheBuyer.Thisobligationwillalso apply
to OEM’s directly supplying the goods. Holding back any such offer or accounting such freebies in
quantity supplied shall make such consignments liable to be rejectedbytheconsigneeandshallalsobe
considered as inappropriate and against the GeM policies for which GeM reserves all rights to take
necessary action against such Seller/OEM as deemed fit.
xv. By registering on GeM and by participating in any bid on GeM, Seller undertakes that presently it is not
“Debarred from Bidding” on the grounds mentioned in Rule 151 ofGFR 2017.
You find the complete guidelines here
Conclusion
I hope this article gave you an insight into how you can register as a seller on the GeM. This article covered all the steps for being a seller on GeM. If you also want to sell goods and services, get enrolled on the GeM portal today and avail its benefits.