Government E-marketplace – GeM

Government e-marketplace primarily known as GeM is an initiative taken by the government of India on 9th August 2016 to run its own e-marketplace. It is a one-stop solution for all Central Government and State Government Ministries, Departments, Public Sector Units (PSUs) and affiliated bodies to facilitate easy procurement of consumer goods and services.

Scope of operation for the GeM Platform:

There are three facets to defining the scope of operations for the GeM platform:

1. Who are the customers (both buyers and sellers) that the GeM platform will cater to?

Ans: GeM aims to replicate the offline market on its online platform to create an open market that brings together sellers across the board ranging from established brands to MSEs, individual suppliers, suppliers of innovative products and services, and artisans.

2. What will be the goods and services offered on the GeM platform?

Ans: The spectrum of goods and services procured by the Government is very wide. The goods procured by the Government range from highly standardized goods like A4 printing paper, printer cartridges, and electronic goods like printers and laptops to highly specialized goods like drilling equipment and medical equipment. Similarly, for services, the spectrum ranges from standard services such as security services, chauffeur services, and gardening services to a more complex set of specialized services such as consulting services and engineering services.

3. How shall the GeM platform operate to execute the aforementioned ‘Who’ and ‘What’?

Ans: The GeM platform shall be an open marketplace and shall focus solely on being a platform for Government buyers to meet sellers and conduct business. It shall neither own the goods and services sold through the platform nor own the supply and logistics of goods and services transacted on it. The platform will only act as a mediator where two parties interact with each other.

4.Advantages of using GeM

Advantages of GeM are two-fold one from the viewpoint of buyers and another from the viewpoint of sellers which are as follows:

1.For Buyers

• Provide transparency and ease of buying.
• Offers rich listing of products for the individual categories of goods/services.
• Price Trends and Price Comparison from Multiple Suppliers.
• Direct notifications to sellers.
• Integrated Payment System.
• User-friendly dashboard for monitoring supplies and payments.
• Online grievance redressal mechanism for a quick resolution.

2.For Sellers

• Access to National Public Procurement market
• No charges or fee for getting registered
• Special provisions and sections for start-ups, MSMEs and Emporium products
• Fully online, paperless and contactless platform
• Brand application and brand approval process has been revamped for sellers
• Easy access to participate in bids/reverse auction
• All sellers will be shown reasons for rejection

5.Benefits of choosing GeM?

As the above pictureis self-explanatory also mentioned/ explained below:

• There are over seventeen lakhs products listed on the GeM portal
• With a transaction value of over fifty-three thousand Crore
• Also, the portal is inching towards four lakhs mark for sellers and service providers.
• From above it is very much clear that how this portal is growing day by day and transforming the purchasing pattern of all Central Government and State Government Ministries, Departments, Public Sector Units (PSUs) and affiliated bodies from buying from a shop to purchasing electronically.

6. What you can sell or offer on GeM Portal?

There are many goods and services which can be sold on GeM portal some of them are as follows:

a.Services

• Advertisement service
• Annual maintenance for network devices
• Annual maintenance for HVAC Equipment
• Bandwidth hiring Services
• Content Delivery Network (CDN) Services

b.Goods

• Electronic appliances such as laptops, computers, television, air conditioner, UPS, inverter, etc.
• Furniture such as revolving chairs, office chairs, steel Almirah, etc.
• Software’s
• Office equipment such as stationery used in office and utensils which are used daily in the office, etc.
• Vehicles such as two-wheelers, four-wheelers, ambulance, bus, etc.

7. Why sell on GeM?

• Drive Business with ease
• Direct access to the largest Buyers in the Country
• PAN India reach with minimal marketing
• Direct Purchase, Bids and Reverse Auctions
• Dynamic Pricing Based on Market Conditions
• Transparency and security
• Multi-Lingual support Desk

Documents required for GeM Registration

• Aadhaar Card and PAN Card
• The mobile number which is linked with Aadhaar card
• Business Description
• E-mail I’d
• Last three year’s income tax return
• Last three year’s balance sheet of the company (in case of a company)
• Goods & Service Tax registration number
• Current Account in Bank
• MSME Certificate or Certificate of incorporation

The registration process on GeM Portal for sellers:

Step 1: Visit site https://gem.gov.in/

Step 2: Go to Sign up and click on sign up as a seller.

Step 3: Read terms and conditions that will be displayed after Step 2. After reading that you can go on to the next step.

Step 4: Select your constitution type whether you are a proprietorship, Firm, Company, Trust or Society. Enter your entity Name, PAN or Aadhaar details and also verify your PAN or Aadhaar details.

Step 5: After you fill up this details next screen will be displayed which would ask for some more details such as a business address, personal information, business information, etc.

Step 6: After submitting the application, the professionals will check all the necessary details, documents, and information for verifying them.

Step 7: Once the details are submitted, the application of the GeM registration filed.

Step 8: After submitting the application, you will receive a call from the agencies working under the authorization of the government. This call will be regarding the inspection of the office premises, whether it is valid for GeM Registration.

Step 9: When the inspection is done effectively, the firm will be issued a user ID and password from the GeM portal to access the seller account and you will be eligible for selling goods and services on the GeM portal.

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