IOCL e-tender: how to register, pay EMD and bid on IndianOil's tender portal

An IOCL e-tender is a tender from Indian Oil Corporation Limited, run on its own online portal. IndianOil buys goods, services and works for its refineries, pipelines, bottling plants, depots and offices all over India, and nearly all of it goes through that portal. This guide shows you where IOCL tenders are, how to register, how to pay EMD and how to submit a bid without being rejected on a technicality. It follows the portal's home page and IOCL's own Special Instructions to the Bidder for participating in e-Tender.

Where IOCL publishes its tenders (IOCL e-tender portal)

IndianOil's portal is at iocletenders.nic.in. Its home page calls it the IndianOil e-Tendering Portal. It says the portal is owned and maintained by Indian Oil Corporation Limited, and designed, developed and hosted by NIC. It runs on NIC's GePNIC software, the same system behind eprocure.gov.in and most state portals. If you have bid on one of those, the menus will look familiar.

Tenders come from all parts of the company. On the day we checked, the newest ones were from divisional offices in Secunderabad and Kozhikode, a pipelines unit at Paradip, the Indane bottling plant at Etawah and the Guwahati Refinery township.

You don't need to log in to browse. The public menus include:

• Active Tenders and Tenders by Closing Date
• Tenders by Location and Tenders by Classification
• Corrigendum, for changes to published tenders
• Results of Tenders, Tenders Status and Cancelled/Retendered
• Tenders in Archive, for old tenders
• Debarment List and Announcements

Central PSUs, IndianOil included, have had to publish their tenders on the Central Public Procurement Portal (CPPP) since 1 February 2012. So many IOCL tenders also appear on CPPP as notices. You still bid on iocletenders.nic.in.

What you need before you register

• A Class 3 digital signature certificate (DSC). IOCL's Special Instructions say the portal accepts new mapping of Class 3 certificates only. Old Class 2 certificates already mapped keep working until they expire. After that, you need Class 3. Buy it from a licensed certifying authority. Our DSC guide explains which one to get.
• An email ID and mobile number you actually check. IOCL sends alerts only if the email and mobile number on your profile are "correct and updated".
• Your firm's details: PAN, GST number, registered address, legal status, and your Udyam certificate if you are a micro or small enterprise.
• A plan for logins. The portal carries a notice called "Restriction in IOCL E-Tendering Portal towards the number of users against single PAN". Read it before you create separate logins for branches or staff.

How to register on the IOCL e-tender portal

1. Open iocletenders.nic.in and click Online Bidder Enrollment.
2. Fill in the form. On GePNIC portals, your login ID is an email address, and it can't be changed later. Add your correspondence email, mobile number, company details, PAN and the contact person's details, then type the CAPTCHA and submit.
3. Log in and map your DSC. IOCL asks you to enrol your digital certificate the first time you log in. Its instructions warn: "Once a digital certificate is enrolled to a user account, it cannot be used for any other registration in the system." So map the DSC of the person who will actually sign this firm's bids.
4. Set up alerts and documents. Under My Accounts you can manage alerts. Store certificates you attach to most bids under My Documents, so they're ready when you bid.
5. Keep access. If you lose your password, use Generate / Forgot Password on the home page.

IOCL's portal says it lets you "download the Tender Schedule free of cost". We found no enrolment fee on the portal or in the Special Instructions. Any tender fee and the EMD amount are set in each tender. For screen-by-screen help with GePNIC enrolment, see our NIC bidder registration guide. The portal also has a Bidders Manual Kit, an FAQ, Help For Contractors and Information About DSC.

How to find IOCL tenders and follow them

After you log in, open Search Active Tenders. Type the e-Tender ID in Tender ID, or words from the title in Work/Item Title, and click Submit. Tick the tender and save it as Favorite. Your bid starts from My Tenders.

Saving a tender as a favourite matters. IOCL sends corrigendum alerts in open tenders only to bidders who have saved that tender as a favourite. According to the Special Instructions, the portal also sends SMS and email alerts:

• 30 days before your registered DSC expires
• when a single or limited tender is issued to you, and as a reminder to take part
• when you have uploaded a bid but not clicked Freeze
• when IOCL raises a technical or commercial query with you, or answers your clarification
• with the date and time of price bid opening, if you are technically accepted
• as a reminder to take part in a reverse auction
• with the award of contract (AOC), if you win

IOCL adds that these alerts are "only indicative". Log in and check the Dashboard under My Accounts regularly, even if no message arrives.

How to submit a bid on iocletenders.nic.in

1. Download the tender documents. Get the Notice Inviting Tender and all other documents from the portal, free, using your DSC and user ID.
2. Read each cover. A cover (or packet) lists the documents to upload and their format. The portal supports four formats: pdf, xls (Excel 97-2003), jpg and rar. Each cover accepts only the formats the tender lists.
3. Fill in the price bid (BOQ). Download the BOQ and save it without any change. Fill in only the details and prices asked, save it and upload it. Our BOQ guide covers the common mistakes.
4. Claim an exemption or pay EMD. This is explained in the next section.
5. Click Freeze Bid Submission. The button works only after the EMD step is complete. You get an acknowledgement, and the bid shows under My Bids.
6. Send any originals in time. If the tender asks for an EMD instrument or other documents in original, they must reach IOCL before the due date and time, or the bid "shall be summarily rejected".

IOCL lists what it treats as tampering with the BOQ: uploading a scan or photocopy of it, uploading any other file in its place, adding sheets, changing its content, or adding your own protection to the workbook. Such bids are "summarily rejected at the time of evaluation". IOCL also asks bidders not to use Information Rights Management (IRM) on the BOQ or any other Excel file.

The clock that counts is the system time (IST) shown on the portal. IOCL takes no responsibility if you can't finish uploading in time, so don't leave it to the last hour. No physical bid is accepted, except documents the tender itself asks for on paper.

Resubmitting or withdrawing a bid

You can change your bid until the due date and time with the Resubmit button. Only the technical and financial documents can be changed this way.

To pull out, use Withdraw. IOCL's rule is plain: once a bid is withdrawn, "that particular bidder will not allowed to participate in the tender again".

How to pay EMD in an IOCL tender

The first payment screen asks whether you are submitting EMD by bank guarantee or swift transfer, or are exempt. Select Yes if any of these apply:

• the tender terms exempt you from EMD
• you are giving EMD as a bank guarantee
• you are paying by swift transfer from abroad
• you are paying part of the EMD and claiming exemption for the rest

The portal then asks you to upload the exemption document (pdf or jpg). Select No only if you are paying the full EMD online. Next, check the amount and click Confirm to Pay. After that, the EMD details "can no longer be changed for the bid".

Some practical points from the same instructions:

• Keep the bank account open. EMD refunds go back to the account you paid from, so keep it active until the tender is awarded. The refund process is in the "FAQs-IOCL-Online-EMD" document attached to each tender.
• A challan payment may take a day to clear. It can show "Paid – Subject to Bank Clearance" and change to Success the next day.
• Tender fees aren't refunded. The payment terms say money paid as tender fee "shall not be refunded at any point of time", even if you don't finish bidding.
• Don't fake an exemption. If you claim "Full Exemption" and upload an NEFT or RTGS receipt as proof, for example because your payment reached the bank late, the bid is "summarily rejected".

For how EMD works in general and when you lose it, see EMD in tenders.

MSE, startup and Make in India benefits in IOCL tenders

IndianOil is a central PSU, so the Public Procurement Policy for Micro and Small Enterprises applies to it. Under the policy:

• central buyers must buy at least 25% of their goods and services from MSEs every year
• MSEs get tender documents free and are exempt from EMD
• an MSE quoting within 15% of L1 can match the L1 price and supply up to 25% of the order
• the benefits are for goods MSEs make and services they provide, not for traders and not for works
• MSEs still give performance security if they win

IOCL tenders state their own terms. One IOCL Refineries Division tender notice on the portal exempts four groups from EMD: MSEs registered under the MSMED Act, recognised startups, central and state PSUs, and IOCL's joint ventures. Each must upload proof with the techno-commercial bid. The certificate must be valid on the bid submission date, and one submitted after the due date isn't considered. Read the clause in your own tender, because terms differ.

The portal's Announcements include a "Bidders Help Manual for availing Preferential Benefits" and an "Operational Help Book for Bidders on Preferential Bid Submission". Read both before your first bid as an MSE. For the full policy, see MSME benefits in government tenders. If a tender applies the Make in India order, Class-I local suppliers (at least 50% local content) can also get a purchase preference. The tender says whether it applies.

IOCL e-tender helpdesk

IOCL's Special Instructions give these contacts:

• Portal problems: email etenderinghelpdesk@indianoil.in, Monday to Friday, 09:00 to 16:45 IST. The document also lists phone numbers for portal support staff in Kolkata, Noida, New Delhi, Mumbai and Gurugram.
• Payment gateway, EMD refunds and NEFT/RTGS problems: ICICI Bank's e-tendering desk, etendering@icicibank.com, with escalation contacts in the same document.

The portal's announcements also mention a chatbot added in a recent version of the portal. Before you call, check the FAQ, the Bidders Manual Kit and the Guidelines for Hassle Free Bid Submission on the home page.

After you bid: results and award

If your technical bid is accepted, the portal tells you when the price bids will be opened. Some IOCL tenders end in a reverse auction or a "tender cum auction", and the portal has separate instructions for those. The winner gets the award of contract (AOC) by email and SMS. Anyone can check Results of Tenders and Tenders Status, and IOCL's Debarment List is public too.

Our guide to tender status and results explains each stage. If you win, you will usually give performance security (a deposit or bank guarantee) as the contract states.

Find IOCL tenders on GovtTenderHub

GovtTenderHub reads iocletenders.nic.in directly and lists every live IOCL tender with its title, location, closing date and value where given. Use the Indian Oil tenders page and filter by state or category. Searching and reading tenders is free. If you want new IOCL tenders in your field sent to you by email each day, see our tender alert plans.

Common questions

Is IOCL e-tender registration free?

We found no enrolment fee on iocletenders.nic.in or in IOCL's Special Instructions. Tender documents are free to download. A tender fee, if any, and the EMD are set in each tender's own notice.

Which DSC is required for IOCL e-tender?

A Class 3 digital signature certificate. The portal allows new mapping of Class 3 certificates only. Old Class 2 certificates already mapped work only until they expire.

How do I pay EMD for an IOCL tender?

Online, by net banking or with an NEFT/RTGS challan the portal generates. Pay by NEFT at least two working days before closing. If you are giving a bank guarantee or are exempt, select Yes on the EMD Exemption screen and upload the document.

Are MSEs exempt from EMD in IOCL tenders?

Under the central MSE policy, MSEs are exempt from EMD for goods they make and services they provide. IOCL tender notices also ask for proof with the bid that is valid on the bid date. Traders and works contracts aren't covered, so check your tender's clause.

Can I change my bid after submitting it?

Yes, until the deadline, with the Resubmit button. You can change only the technical and financial documents, not your profile or the preference you claimed. Once you withdraw, you can't bid in that tender again.

Can I use my eprocure.gov.in login on the IOCL portal?

No. Each GePNIC portal keeps its own list of bidders, so you enrol separately on iocletenders.nic.in. You can map a DSC on each portal, but on IOCL's portal one DSC works for only one account.