Past performance criterion in government tenders

There is no single form. For works, the Manual for Procurement of Works (2025, para 3.9.1-4) gives as its model pre-qualification criterion three similar completed (or substantially completed) works each costing at least 40% of the estimated cost, or two at 50%, or one at 80%, within the last seven years, with older work brought to current cost at 7% a year simple. The Non-consultancy Services Manual (2025, para 5.1.9) uses the same 40%, 50% and 80% steps, against the estimated annualised cost, for similar services over seven financial years.

For goods, the sample in Annexure 12 of the Goods Manual (2024) asks for regular supply of the product for at least three years, and a qualifying quantity supplied in at least one of the last five years. The percentage is left to the buyer, with a footnote suggesting 40% to 80% or any other percentage of the tendered quantity, lower for unusually large orders and higher for small ones. The Goods Manual (para 5.1.3-7) also says a criterion not specified in the tender cannot be used to qualify or reject a bidder.

A GeM bid document splits it into two lines. Years of past experience asks the bidder or its OEM, directly or through resellers, to have supplied the same or similar category products to a central or state government organisation or PSU in each of that many financial years before bid opening, with contract copies showing supply in each year. Past performance is a percentage: in a 2025 bid document read for this entry it was 80%, meaning supply of that share of the bid quantity in at least one of the last three financial years, evidenced by contracts showing the cumulative order quantity in one year. For bunch bids, the primary product with the highest value must meet it.

The turnover floor sits beside these fields but does a different job. The clause also says the estimated bid value is declared only to guide EMD and eligibility criteria such as turnover and past performance, and has no bearing on the price to quote.

The first is treating it as turnover. Turnover is a financial test over three years; past performance is proof of having delivered. The second is borrowing credentials that do not transfer. Under the Goods Manual (para 7.4.2) the buyer does not consider subsidiaries, parent entities, allied firms or subcontractors (other than specialised subcontractors where the bid allows). Annexure 12 adds that joint venture partners' supplies cannot be clubbed and a holding company's credentials cannot be clubbed, apart from one narrow exception for the financial standing of a domestic holding company with one fully owned subsidiary, and that a buyer may allow a demerged entity to use its parent's credentials if the tender says so. An authorised representative qualifies only if the principal manufacturer meets every criterion without exemption and gives a tender-specific authorisation.

The third is thin evidence: the manual asks for supply or work orders, completion certificates and client contact details, authenticated by the person authorised to sign the bid, with originals produced if asked. The fourth is assuming an exemption covers it. The GeM clauses for MSE and startup exemption name Bidder Turnover and Experience Criteria, not the past performance clause, and exemption needs uploaded proof, so check each line of the bid.