What is the GeM portal? The Government e-Marketplace explained

The GeM portal is where government offices across India buy their everyday goods and services, from printer paper and laptops to security guards and hired cars. If you want to sell to the government, it is usually the first portal to learn. This guide explains what GeM is, who must buy on it, how buying works at each order value and what it offers sellers, from the General Financial Rules and GeM's own terms.

What is the GeM portal? GeM full form and who runs it

GeM stands for Government e-Marketplace. It is an online shop where the buyers are government offices and the sellers are businesses, and some government bodies, registered to supply them. Everything happens on the portal: listing products, comparing prices, bidding, ordering, accepting deliveries and paying.

• Launched: 9 August 2016. GeM says it was built in five months, turning the old Directorate General of Supplies and Disposals (DGS&D) system into an online marketplace.
• Run by: GeM SPV (special purpose vehicle), a Section 8 not-for-profit company under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, incorporated on 17 May 2017 under the Companies Act, 2013. It owns the portal and runs it through a managed service provider.
• The name: people also type "GeMS portal" or "GEM portal". There is one GeM, and its only address is gem.gov.in.

How big it is, from GeM's statistics page on 8 October 2026:

The government's August 2026 factsheet puts the number of sellers and service providers at nearly 25 lakh.

Why GeM exists

Government buying used to involve paperwork, many approvals and long tendering, which made it slow and hard to check. GeM's stated aim is more transparency, efficiency and speed. In practice that means:

• The same terms for everyone. One set of General Terms and Conditions (GTC) covers every order, with category terms and each buyer's additional terms on top.
• Prices in the open. Before ordering, buyers can compare sellers' prices and see the last price paid on GeM.
• Tools for competition: online bidding, reverse auctions and demand aggregation, where several buyers' needs are combined into one bigger order.
• Room for small firms. Micro and small enterprises (MSEs) have 44.67% of GeM's order value, according to its statistics page. In 2025-26, over 11 lakh MSEs carried out more than 51 lakh orders worth over ₹2.36 lakh crore.

Who must buy on GeM: GFR Rule 149

GeM is compulsory because of Rule 149 of the General Financial Rules (GFR), 2017, which binds central ministries and departments:

• Items on GeM must be bought on GeM. Rule 147 lets ministries make their own arrangements only for goods and services GeM doesn't offer.
• No splitting. A demand must not be broken into small orders to stay under a limit or avoid L1 buying, bidding or a reverse auction.
• An annual plan. Ministries put their annual procurement plan for goods and services on GeM within 30 days of budget approval.
• The limits apply only on GeM. Purchases outside GeM follow the other GFR rules.

The GFR is a central government rule. GeM's buyers also include state governments, central and state PSUs, autonomous bodies, local bodies, panchayats and cooperatives, which follow their own procurement rules on when to use it.

How GeM works: buying modes and limits

Rule 149, as amended by the Department of Expenditure's OM of 10 July 2024, sets how a central buyer purchases on GeM:

A few details matter:

• Scientific bodies such as DRDO, ICAR, ICMR, the Departments of Atomic Energy, Space, Science and Technology and Biotechnology, and post-graduate research institutes can buy directly up to ₹1 lakh, with L1 purchase from ₹1 lakh to ₹10 lakh (DoE OM of 18 July 2024).
• Automobiles can be bought by direct purchase with no ceiling.
• Bids below ₹10 lakh are allowed. GeM's terms call bidding the preferred mode above ₹50,000. For a direct purchase, the buyer needs the competent authority's approval and must record reasons if it doesn't pick the lowest-priced product.

Buyers also use these:

• Push Button Procurement (PBP): for L1 purchases up to ₹5 lakh. The buyer publishes a notice, sellers have 3 days to offer, and an order needs at least 5 participants (2 OEMs and 3 resellers).
• Custom bids: for items not in GeM's catalogue, open for at least 10 and at most 45 days.
• BOQ bids: a bill of quantities for a turnkey job, such as setting up a computer lab.
• Rate contracts: supply at fixed prices for a set period.
• Forward auctions: government offices sell scrap, surplus and old assets to the highest bidder.

How a reverse auction runs is in our GeM reverse auction guide, and how the lowest bidder is worked out is in L1 in tenders.

What sellers get on GeM

• Free registration. GeM charges no fee to register, and caution money was discontinued in 2025.
• Government buyers across India, from ministries to panchayats, on one portal.
• Charges only on orders you win, and only above a threshold. GeM's revenue policy version 1.6, for bids opening on or after 26 August 2025:

GeM says about 97% of transactions on the portal carry no charge. When a charge applies, pay it within 15 days of the award, before your first invoice or before the first delivery date, whichever comes first.

• Payment on fixed timelines. For goods, 100% within 10 days of the CRAC and your online bill. For services, monthly bills paid within 10 days of the service delivery acceptance certificate (SDAC). The contract's own terms can change this. Central buyers pay through PFMS and state buyers through their state's financial system (IFMS).
• Protection from slow payers. GeM flags buyers with a record of late payments. You can reject an order from a red-flag buyer, one with more than 30 payments delayed beyond 70 days, without penalty.
• No performance security on small orders. Direct purchase, L1 and PBP orders need none. Bid and reverse auction contracts can ask for up to 5%.

Products and services on GeM

One registration covers both.

Products. Every product seller is either an OEM (the maker or brand owner) or a reseller. OEMs need a vendor assessment, done by RITES, unless exempt. Resellers may need the OEM's authorisation, depending on the category. A product must be in your approved catalogue before you can offer it in a bid.

Services. These include manpower, security, cleaning, catering, vehicle hiring, printing, IT and consultancy, delivered under a service level agreement (SLA) that sets the standard and the penalties. Services are usually billed monthly and paid against the SDAC.

How a seller starts on GeM

1. Sign up at gem.gov.in: click Sign Up → Seller/Service Provider. Verify yourself with Aadhaar or your personal PAN, an OTP to your mobile and an OTP to your email, then create a user ID and password. Full details: GeM registration.
2. Complete your profile: business PAN, CIN for a company, Udyam if you are an MSE, bank account and address. To bid, GeM needs income tax returns for the last three years if your business is more than two years old.
3. Add your products or services to your catalogue and wait for approval.
4. Get e-sign or a DSC to sign bids. GeM still accepts OTP but says it will be withdrawn.
5. Find bids in your categories. GeM notifies you of new bids, and you can see live GeM bids on GovtTenderHub by state and category, with the key terms of each bid document.
6. Bid, deliver, invoice and get paid. Each step is in how to bid on GeM, and signing in is covered in our GeM login guide.

Key GeM terms in plain words

More on how much security buyers ask for, and in what form, is in performance security in tenders.

Common questions

What is the full form of GeM?

GeM stands for Government e-Marketplace. It is at gem.gov.in and is run by GeM SPV, a Section 8 not-for-profit company under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

Is GeM mandatory for government purchases?

For central ministries and departments, yes: Rule 149 of the GFR makes it compulsory for goods and services available on GeM. State governments and PSUs follow their own rules, but many of them buy on GeM too.

Is GeM registration free?

Yes. There is no registration fee, and caution money was discontinued in 2025. GeM charges sellers only after their orders in a financial year reach ₹20 lakh.

What is the GeMS portal?

"GeMS portal" is a common way of typing GeM, the Government e-Marketplace. The official site is gem.gov.in; there is no separate GeMS portal.

What is the difference between GeM and CPPP?

GeM is a marketplace where offices order listed goods and services or run bids and reverse auctions for them. The Central Public Procurement Portal (CPPP) is where central ministries, their offices and autonomous bodies must publish their tender notices, corrigenda and awards (GFR Rule 159), and purchases made outside GeM are tendered on e-procurement portals. You can see both CPPP tenders and GeM bids on GovtTenderHub.

Who can sell on GeM?

Proprietorships, partnership firms, companies, trusts, societies, startups and government bodies can all register, for products, services or both. The person who registers must be the owner or an authorised person, such as a partner, director or the authorised signatory of the firm's income tax return.