GFR 2017 explained for bidders: procurement rules, current limits and the 2026 changes

If you bid for central government work, almost every condition in the tender, from the EMD and the time you get to bid to who is exempt and how you get paid, comes from a numbered rule in GFR 2017. This guide explains the General Financial Rules 2017 the way a bidder needs them: who they bind, the money limits that decide how a department buys, the rules you will meet in tender documents, and where to get the official PDF.

What is GFR 2017?

The General Financial Rules are the Government of India's rules and orders on public money. They were first issued in 1947 and later rewritten as GFR 1963 and GFR 2005. The Finance Minister released the current version, GFR 2017, on 7 March 2017.

The Department of Expenditure (DoE) in the Ministry of Finance changes the rules through office memorandums (OMs) and publishes an updated copy from time to time. The latest copy is updated up to 31.01.2026.

Of its 12 chapters, three matter to bidders:

GFR sets the principles. The step-by-step practice is in the DoE's procurement manuals for Goods (2024), Works (2025), Consultancy Services (2025) and Non-Consultancy Services (2025).

Who has to follow the GFR rules

Rule 1 says GFR 2017 applies to all central government ministries and departments, and their attached and subordinate offices. It also applies to autonomous bodies, except where a body's bye-laws contain separate financial rules that the government has approved.

So a tender from a central PSU will look familiar but can differ in the details. States are not bound by GFR. They have their own financial rules or procurement laws, such as the Karnataka Transparency in Public Procurements Act, 1999 and the Rajasthan Transparency in Public Procurement Act, 2012. For a state PWD or municipal tender, read that state's rules.

GFR 2017 procurement rules: what Chapter 6 covers

Chapter 6 is titled "Procurement of Goods and Services". In plain terms:

"Goods" is a wide term. Rule 143 includes machinery, vehicles, medicines, software and licences, and also services that come with the goods, such as installation, training and maintenance. Where the rules for non-consultancy services (198 to 205) are silent, Rule 206 says the goods rules (142 to 176) apply.

Current GFR limits at a glance

These are the limits for an ordinary central ministry or department, as amended by the DoE OM of 10 July 2024.

Goods

Services, works and scrap

A few things behind these numbers:

• The GeM limits apply only to purchases on GeM (Rule 149(v)). Rules 154 and 155 apply only when the item is not available on GeM.
• For automobiles, direct purchase on GeM has no ceiling (note to Rule 149(i)).
• A department may not split a demand into small orders to stay under a limit (Rules 149(viii) and 157).
• Repair works above ₹60 lakh, and new works of any value, can be handed to a public works organisation such as CPWD, a state PWD, MES or BRO, or to a government PSU (Rules 133(2) and 133(3)). That is why so many central works tenders come from CPWD.

What changed in the July 2024 amendment

The 10 July 2024 OM roughly doubled most limits:

If an article or an old PDF still shows ₹25,000 or ₹25 lakh, it is out of date.

GFR 2017 latest amendments (2024 to 2026)

• 8 May 2026, Rule 151 (debarment). DoE OM No. 2/6/2026-PPD(i) added new grounds: conviction under the four labour codes, or being debarred more than once for not paying wages or not depositing social security contributions for workers on a government contract, so that the buyer had to pay. Debarment from all buyers lasts up to three years, needs a DoE decision, and the list is shown on GeM. A single buyer can debar a firm from its own tenders for up to two years for an integrity breach or a wage default, and must report it to GeM. You must get a chance to respond first. This change is not yet in the 31 January 2026 PDF.
• 5 June 2025: higher limits for scientific ministries (footnotes to Rules 154, 155, 161 and 162).
• 10 July 2024: the limit changes above. Tenders are now advertised on GeM and the GeM–Central Public Procurement Portal (GeM-CPPP).
• 1 January 2024: performance security for goods and services set at 3–5% (Rule 171).

GFR rules every bidder should know

Rule 144: specifications must be generic

Rule 144 sets the basic principles for all public buying, including works. What is being bought should be described in an "objective, functional, generic and measurable" way and should not ask for a particular trade mark, trade name or brand (Rule 144(i)). Specs should meet the basic need without "superfluous and non-essential features" (144(ii)) and should follow national standards where they exist (144(iii)). If a tender names one brand, this is the rule to quote when you ask for "or equivalent".

Each ministry must also publish an annual procurement plan on its website before the year starts (144(x)), so you can see what is coming.

GFR Rule 149: GeM comes first

Goods and services available on GeM must be bought through GeM by ministries and departments (Rules 147 and 149). Above ₹10 lakh the buyer must run a bid or reverse auction on GeM; below that it can buy directly or from the lowest of three makers. If you sell common-use items to central ministries, you need to be a registered GeM seller to reach these buyers.

Rules 159 and 160: tenders must be published and bid online

Rule 159 makes it mandatory to publish tender enquiries, corrigenda and award details on GeM-CPPP. This covers ministries, their offices and autonomous and statutory bodies. The exceptions are cases needing confidentiality for national security, approved at Secretary level, and small purchases under Rules 154 and 155. Rule 160 makes it mandatory to receive all bids through e-procurement portals. GovtTenderHub collects these CPPP tenders with GeM and state portal tenders in one search.

GFR Rule 161 and the other tender types

Rule 158 lists the methods, and Rules 161 to 167 explain them:

For an advertised tender, the full bidding document must be downloadable, and no fee may be charged for downloading it (Rule 161(v)). You get at least three weeks to bid, or four weeks when bids are also invited from abroad (161(vi)). A limited tender goes to more than three registered firms (162(i)). Late bids are not considered (Rule 165). Our guide to types of government tenders explains each one.

Rule 170: bid security (EMD)

• Amount: "ordinarily" 2% to 5% of the estimated value, fixed in the tender.
• Exempt: Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) as defined in the MSE Procurement Policy, firms registered with the Central Purchase Organisation or the ministry concerned, and startups recognised by DPIIT. Under that policy, traders, distributors and works contracts are not covered.
• Forms: insurance surety bond, demand draft, FDR, banker's cheque, bank guarantee (including e-BG), or online payment.
• Validity: 45 days beyond the final bid validity.
• Refund: to unsuccessful bidders after bid validity ends, and by the 30th day after the award at the latest. In two-packet or two-stage tenders, losing bidders at the technical stage get it back within 30 days of that result.
• Instead of EMD, a tender may ask for a bid securing declaration: if you withdraw or fail to sign, you are barred from that buyer's tenders for a set period.

More detail is in our guides to EMD and MSME benefits in tenders.

Rule 171: performance security

The winning bidder gives performance security of 3% to 5% of the contract value for goods, consultancy and non-consultancy services. For works, performance security plus security deposit or retention money is 3% to 10%. It must stay valid for 60 days after all your contract obligations end, warranty included, and your EMD is refunded once you give it. See our performance security guide.

Rule 172: advance payments

Payment is normally made after supply. Where an advance is allowed, for example in maintenance, fabrication or turnkey contracts, it may not exceed 30% of the contract value for private firms or 40% for government agencies and PSUs. For maintenance contracts, it is capped at six months' payment. The buyer will ask for a bank guarantee against it.

Rule 173: a fair process

Rule 173 has the promises that protect you most as a bidder:

• (i) The tender must be self-contained and clear, and prior turnover and experience may be relaxed for startups.
• (iii) Any change must be published the same way as the tender, with more time if needed. If you have already bid, you can modify, resubmit or withdraw.
• (iv) The tender must let you question its conditions, the process or your rejection, and the reasons for a rejection must be given if you ask.
• (x) Turnkey contracts and purchases of sophisticated, costly equipment should provide for a pre-bid conference, with its records shared with all bidders.
• (xii) Bids are judged only on conditions in the tender. No new condition can be added at evaluation.
• (xiv) Negotiation after bid opening is "severely discouraged". In exceptional cases it may be held only with the lowest evaluated bidder.
• (xvi) The contract normally goes to the lowest evaluated bidder who is responsive and qualified. Our L1 guide explains how L1 is worked out.
• (xviii) The winner's name is published on GeM-CPPP and the buyer's website.
• (xx) and (xxi) A tender with only one bid can still be valid if it was well advertised, the criteria were fair and the price is reasonable. It is then treated as a single tender.

Rules 175 and 151: integrity and debarment

Rule 175 is the code of integrity. Bidders must not offer bribes or gifts, misrepresent facts, collude or rig bids, misuse the buyer's information, or make false declarations. You must disclose any conflict of interest and any similar breach in the last three years, or a debarment by another buyer. A buyer that finds a breach can, after hearing you, debar you from its tenders for up to two years (Rule 151(iii)).

GFR 2017 PDF: how to get the official copy

1. Open the Department of Expenditure website, doe.gov.in, and go to the Manuals page. The "General Financial Rules, 2017" link opens the PDF updated up to 31.01.2026: GFR 2017 (updated up to 31.01.2026).
2. Read the footnotes. Each amended rule has a footnote naming the OM and date that changed it.
3. Check for newer OMs. Changes made after the PDF date are listed on the DoE's Procurement Policy OMs page. The 8 May 2026 change to Rule 151 is one.
4. Download the manual for your field: Goods (2024), Works (2025), Consultancy (2025) or Non-Consultancy Services (2025), from the same Manuals page.

Common questions

What is GFR 2017 in simple words?

It is the central government's rulebook for handling public money, issued by the Ministry of Finance. For bidders, Chapter 6 (Rules 142 to 206) sets how ministries buy goods and services: the limits, the tender types, EMD, performance security and fair-process rules.

Is GFR 2017 applicable to state governments?

No. It applies to central ministries, departments, their offices and autonomous bodies. States have their own financial rules or procurement laws, so a state tender follows those.

What is Rule 149 of GFR 2017?

Rule 149 makes GeM compulsory for goods and services available on it. A buyer can purchase directly up to ₹50,000, from the lowest of at least three manufacturers up to ₹10 lakh, and must run a GeM bid or reverse auction above ₹10 lakh.

What is the limit for purchase without quotation under GFR?

₹50,000 on each occasion, under Rule 154, and only when the item is not available on GeM. Between ₹50,000 and ₹5 lakh, a three-member local purchase committee surveys the market (Rule 155).

How much EMD is required as per GFR 2017?

Rule 170 says bid security should ordinarily be 2% to 5% of the estimated value. MSEs as defined in the MSE Procurement Policy and DPIIT-recognised startups are exempt.

Is GFR applicable to PSUs?

Not directly. The DoE's procurement manuals apply to central PSUs and public sector banks, except for deviations their boards have approved. So PSU tenders are close to GFR but not identical.

Where can I download the latest GFR 2017 PDF?

From the Department of Expenditure website, doe.gov.in. The current copy is "updated up to 31.01.2026". Check the DoE's procurement OMs page for changes made after that date.