MSTC e-auction: how to register, find scrap auctions and bid

MSTC e-auction is the online route that many government departments, PSUs and customs houses use to sell scrap, old vehicles, surplus stores, coal, minerals and property. This guide explains MSTC registration, login, how to find forthcoming and live auctions, and how bidding, payment and lifting work. It is based on MSTC's own terms and conditions, help pages and buyer guidelines. Each auction also has its own catalogue with its own terms, so always read the catalogue before you bid.

What is MSTC Ltd?

MSTC Limited was set up on 9 September 1964 to regulate the export of ferrous scrap. Today it is a Mini Ratna Category-I public sector enterprise under the administrative control of the Ministry of Steel, Government of India. It is a listed company, and the Government of India holds most of its shares.

On mstcecommerce.com it runs e-auction portals, where government bodies sell, and e-procurement portals, where some PSUs and departments buy.

In an auction, MSTC acts only as the seller's agent. The seller, called the principal, owns the goods. MSTC's terms say it gives no guarantee about the quality or quantity of what is sold and has no role after the Delivery Order is issued. So any dispute about the goods is mainly between you and the seller.

What MSTC auctions

MSTC's public auction search covers metal, electrical and electronic items, transport vehicles, plant and machinery, chemicals, ash, coal, minerals, mine blocks, forest and farm produce, petroleum products, vessels, diamonds and immovable property, among others.

Common lots include metal scrap, e-waste, old vehicles, cables, batteries and used machinery. Sellers named in MSTC's own buyer FAQ include defence depots, a state transport corporation, a power distribution company and an oil PSU.

MSTC also runs separate portals for coal, mineral blocks, iron ore, property and forest produce, and warns buyers to register on the right one. Indian Customs auctions have their own pages, but you register for them under General Auction, the same as for scrap.

MSTC e-auction portal: the pages you will use

MSTC registration: what you need

• Age: an individual must be at least 18 years old.
• GSTIN, PAN and a bank account in the bidder's name. MSTC lists these three as the essential details. A proprietor can't give a bank account in another name: the bank details must match the registered bidder, or they can't be validated.
• One email address and one mobile number for each registration. They can't be reused for a second registration.
• Pollution Control Board (PCB) documents if you want hazardous lots. Upload them through "Upload PCB Documents" after login. Without them, hazardous lots may not show on your bid floor.
• DSC: MSTC's help says a Digital Signature Certificate is generally not required for scrap auctions, but check the catalogue. More on DSCs in DSC for e-tender.

MSTC registration fee and other charges

None of these is refundable. MSTC's terms say the registration fee can't be refunded once your account is activated, even if you later want a different buyer type. Without a subscription, you can change your email, mobile number or bank details only once a year.

How to register on MSTC as a buyer

1. Open the General Auction page. On mstcecommerce.com, choose e-Auction → Scrap & Customs Goods → General Auction, and click New Registration. A "Registration Guide" video is on the same page.
2. Accept the terms. Read the General Terms and Conditions and the Buyer Specific Terms, click Register as Buyer and then Agree.
3. Verify your email and mobile. Enter your email, 10-digit mobile number and the captcha, and click Generate OTP. Enter the 6-digit OTPs sent to both. They are valid for 30 minutes.
4. Choose what to register for. Pick General Auction. MSTC's form says customs auction buyers should also pick General Auction.
5. Fill in the form. Enter PAN, GSTIN, bank and contact details, and create your username and password. Check PAN, GST and bank details carefully before you submit.
6. Upload documents first. MSTC asks new users to upload all documents before paying the registration fee.
7. Pay the registration fee through the "e-Payment & Pre-Bid EMD Refund" link for new buyers on the General Auction page. Pay within 30 days, or the registration is cancelled automatically. An unfinished registration is deleted after a month.
8. Wait for activation. It is automatic once MSTC receives the money. If your account isn't active after 1–2 days, contact MSTC's head office help desk.
9. Get your ID card. After activation, MSTC emails you about your buyer ID card, issued by the MSTC office your profile is assigned to. You need it to inspect lots at the seller's site.

MSTC login

• On the General Auction page, choose Buyer, then enter your username and password.
• An OTP goes to your registered email, and to your mobile if it is verified. It is valid for 30 minutes, and you can ask for it again.
• Forgot password: click "Forgot Password" and choose Buyer. Either get a new password by email (you enter username, email, PAN and bank account number), or reset it instantly with an OTP on your mobile.
• "No such bidder found" usually means the registration wasn't finished within a month, so the data was deleted and you must register again. It can also mean you are logging in on a different MSTC portal from the one you registered on.

How to find MSTC forthcoming and live auctions

You don't need to log in to see what is coming up.

1. Event/Auction Search on mstcecommerce.com: search by keyword, choose Live Auctions, Upcoming Auctions or All, set notified dates, and filter by category, location or MSTC office. Enter the captcha and search.
2. Current & Forthcoming e-Auctions on mstcindia.co.in: a list by MSTC office with each auction number, start and end time, and whether it has general lots or hazardous-waste lots. This is the closest thing to an official MSTC scrap auction list.
3. After login, click "Click here for Live/Forthcoming auctions" and then "View Forthcoming auctions". Open an auction number to see the terms, lot details, unit of measurement, the seller's contact for inspection and any photos, and download the catalogue PDF.

Two cautions:

• The MSTC catalogue we checked says the lot list and terms shown under forthcoming auctions are tentative. Only the catalogue on the live auction floor is final, so download your copy from there.
• If a lot doesn't show on your floor, the seller may have barred you from its auctions, or your PCB licence may not be updated for hazardous lots.

Inspect before you bid. The catalogue gives the inspection dates; take your MSTC ID card. MSTC's terms treat every bidder as having inspected the goods, whether you did or not, and no complaint is accepted after the sale.

Pre-bid EMD: pay before you bid

Many auctions ask for a pre-bid EMD (earnest money deposit) before you can bid on a lot. The catalogue says whether it applies and how much.

• Pay into the Fixed Virtual Account shown in your login, well before the auction. It usually takes 4–6 hours to show in your Pre-Bid EMD ledger.
• Follow MSTC's rule of one challan, one payment: pay the exact challan amount in one go. Never make two payments against one challan, and never pay part. If anything changes, generate a fresh challan.
• If you don't win, the money stays in your EMD ledger for later auctions. To get it back, use the Pre-Bid EMD Refund page in your login. MSTC says it reaches your bank in 1–2 working days, once your bank details are verified with a cancelled cheque or bank mandate form.
• If you win and then don't pay the security deposit, the pre-bid EMD is forfeited.

Read more about earnest money in EMD in tenders.

How MSTC e-auction bidding works

MSTC scrap sales are forward auctions: buyers bid prices up and the highest bid wins.

• The bid floor shows the opening and closing time, lot number and name, quantity and unit, location, the last bid or floor price, and usually the last 10 bids. Click a lot name to see the GST on that lot and any special lifting terms.
• Bid increments: each bid must beat the current highest bid by at least the increment. Check the number of zeros before you click Bid.
• No take-backs: a bid is a firm commitment to buy. You can't cancel or withdraw it.
• Auto bid (proxy bid): enter the most you will pay and your increment, and the system bids for you. Other bidders can't see your maximum. If someone bids exactly your maximum, you stay the highest bidder.
• Who wins: a higher price beats a lower one. At the same price, the earlier bid wins.
• Auto-extension: a bid near the close pushes the closing time forward by the interval set in the catalogue. MSTC's example: with an 8-minute extension and a 5:30 pm close, a bid at 5:29 moves the close to 5:37; another bid at 5:36 moves it to 5:44, and so on. When bidding ends, the floor shows "AUCTION IS CLOSED". MSTC's server time is final.
• Reserve price is the lowest price the seller will accept. If the highest bid is above it, the lot is marked Accepted. If it shows STA (subject to approval), the seller decides later.

After you win an MSTC auction

1. Check the result. MSTC emails a sale intimation letter to the highest bidder. You can also check the lot status in your login.
2. Pay on time. Pay the security deposit (SD) and then the balance, with all taxes, as the catalogue says. Pay online by RTGS, NEFT or net banking against the challan in your login. You may pay everything within the first instalment's time. Late payment, if allowed, carries the charge given in the catalogue.
3. The contract starts when the Acceptance Letter or Sale Order is issued.
4. Delivery Order. Once the full value, taxes and levies are paid, a digitally signed Delivery Order (DO) is issued online.
5. Lift the goods. Show the DO to the seller's store-keeper and remove the goods within the time it allows, on working days, with your own labour and transport. A representative needs your letter of authority. The goods are at your risk from the date of the DO.
6. Extra quantity. If there is more than the catalogue said, within ±20% (unless the catalogue says otherwise), the seller may offer it to you. You then have 10 days to pay for it, after which ground rent applies.

Deadlines change from auction to auction. As an example, this is what one real MSTC catalogue, for an Indian Bureau of Mines scrap auction in January 2025, set:

Find these clauses in your own catalogue before you bid.

GST, GST TDS and TCS on MSTC auctions

• Prices exclude tax. You pay the bid value plus the taxes on the lot. The lot details on the floor show the GST that applies.
• Reverse charge on government scrap. When the seller is a government unit, the registered buyer pays GST on scrap under reverse charge (Notification No. 36/2017-Central Tax (Rate) of 13 October 2017, as quoted in the MSTC catalogue we checked). That catalogue allowed only GST-registered bidders.
• GST TDS on metal scrap. Under CBIC Notification No. 25/2024-Central Tax of 9 October 2024, a registered buyer deducts 2% GST TDS on metal scrap when both buyer and seller are regular GST taxpayers. MSTC says it doesn't handle this: you settle it directly with the seller.
• TCS. If you hold a TCS exemption certificate, MSTC's buyer guidelines ask you to submit it duly filled and stamped.

Safety tips for MSTC buyers

• Never share your username, password or OTP.
• Don't act on phone calls or verbal promises about lots, quantity or quality. Go by the catalogue, and report any mismatch in writing by email.
• Ask questions before the auction through the Ticket Raising System in your login.
• Keep your email, mobile, bank and PCB details up to date, and watch your AAMC due date.
• Report any fraud or misleading information to MSTC. The central help desk is on 079-6906 6600, 9:30 am to 5 pm on working days.

MSTC auctions and GovtTenderHub

GovtTenderHub doesn't list MSTC auctions. We do list the auction, sale and lease notices that government bodies publish on GeM, CPPP and the state e-procurement portals. See scrap auction tenders and auction, lease and sale tenders. Searching and reading them is free, and our tender alerts can email you new ones each morning.

Common questions

What is the MSTC registration fee for scrap auctions?

It is ₹10,000 plus 18% GST, or ₹11,800, for a General Auction registration valid for 10 years. You also pay ₹1,000 a year in Annual Account Maintenance Charges to access the bid floor. None of it is refundable.

Is a DSC required for MSTC e-auction?

MSTC's help says a Digital Signature Certificate is generally not required for scrap auctions. You log in with a username, password and OTP. Check the auction catalogue, because some auctions and other MSTC portals have their own rules.

How can I see the MSTC forthcoming e-auction list?

Use the Event/Auction Search on mstcecommerce.com and choose "Upcoming Auctions", or open the "Current & Forthcoming e-Auctions" page on mstcindia.co.in. Neither needs a login. The full catalogue with lot details is in your login.

Can I cancel or withdraw a bid on MSTC?

No. MSTC's terms say a bid is a firm commitment to buy and can't be withdrawn. Check the amount and the number of zeros before you click Bid.

When will I get my pre-bid EMD back?

If you don't win, it stays in your Pre-Bid EMD ledger for later auctions. Raise a request on the Pre-Bid EMD Refund page and MSTC says the money reaches your bank in 1–2 working days, once your bank details are verified.

Can I bid in Indian Customs auctions with my MSTC registration?

Yes. MSTC's registration form tells customs auction buyers to register under General Auction, the same registration used for scrap.