GeM direct purchase: the Rs 50,000 and Rs 10 lakh limits
GeM direct purchase (Direct purchase on GeM). A purchase made straight from the GeM catalogue without inviting bids. Under GFR Rule 149, a buyer may do this up to Rs 50,000, and may take the lowest priced seller among at least three manufacturers up to Rs 10 lakh.
Checked against its sources on 3 October 2026.
The three bands in Rule 149
Rule 149 of GFR 2017, as amended by Department of Expenditure OM F.1/3/2024-PPD of 10 July 2024, sets three bands for goods and services. Up to Rs 50,000, the buyer may purchase through any available supplier on GeM that meets the requisite quality, specification and delivery period (automobiles have no ceiling). Above Rs 50,000 and up to Rs 10 lakh, the buyer buys from the GeM seller with the lowest price among the available sellers of at least three different manufacturers. Above Rs 10 lakh, the buyer must obtain bids using the online bidding or reverse auction tool on GeM.
The limits used to be Rs 25,000 and Rs 5 lakh. A separate Department of Expenditure OM (F.20/42/2021-PPD, 18 July 2024) gives certain scientific ministries and research institutes a Rs 1 lakh ceiling for the first band. The ceilings apply only to purchases made through GeM (Rule 149(v)).
What it decides for a seller
In a direct purchase no bid is invited, so there is nothing to bid on and no deadline to meet. What the buyer sees is the catalogue: the rule asks only for a supplier that meets the quality, specification and delivery period. In the middle band the ranking is on price among the available sellers, compared across at least three different manufacturers, so your listed price against other manufacturers' listings is what counts.
Buyers cannot easily route around this. The Manual for Procurement of Goods (para 4.17.2) says that where an item is on GeM it may not be bought under Rule 154 (purchase without quotation) or Rule 155 (purchase committee), and buying outside GeM needs a GeM availability report and, for compelling circumstances, approval of the Standing Committee of GeM and the Secretary.
Where people go wrong
The first mistake is quoting the old limits. Rs 25,000 and Rs 5 lakh are still widely repeated, but Rule 149 has carried Rs 50,000 and Rs 10 lakh since July 2024, and the GFR compilation updated to 31 January 2026 still shows them. The second is assuming nothing below Rs 10 lakh is ever bid: Rule 149(ii) lets the buyer use the bidding and reverse auction tools even for smaller purchases.
A buyer may not split a demand into small quantities to avoid L1 buying, bidding or reverse auction on GeM, or to avoid higher sanction (Rule 149(viii)). Push button procurement, a separate bidding-only method for values up to Rs 5 lakh where GeM places the contract automatically if at least five bids arrive, is not a direct purchase either (Manual, para 4.17.2).
- Source:
- Department of Expenditure OM F.1/3/2024-PPD, 10 July 2024, amendment in General Financial Rules 2017 (including Rules 149, 154, 155, 161 and 162); GFR 2017, updated up to 31 January 2026 (Department of Expenditure), Rule 149(i) to (viii) and footnotes; Manual for Procurement of Goods, Second Edition 2024 (Department of Expenditure), paras 4.12 and 4.17.2
- Terms:
- L1, Reverse auction, Rate contract, Limited tender
Where ScanX reads this for you
ScanX reads GeM bids and, for each match, the estimated value and bid type from the bid document. A direct purchase is made without inviting a bid, so there is no bid document to read for it. Bids a buyer chooses to float below Rs 10 lakh are read like any other.