GeM is not one buying method. Below one threshold a buyer can purchase directly, above another a bid or reverse auction is mandatory, and the bid document decides the rest.
9 questions. Checked against their sources on 23 September 2026.
Since the Department of Expenditure order of 10 July 2024, GFR Rule 149 allows direct purchase on GeM up to Rs 50,000, purchase from the L1 seller among at least three manufacturers above Rs 50,000 and up to Rs 10 lakh, and makes a bid or reverse auction mandatory above Rs 10 lakh.
The older limits of Rs 25,000 and Rs 5 lakh are still widely quoted. They were doubled in July 2024.
Bid to RA means the buyer has enabled a reverse auction after the bid: technically qualified bidders compete on price live, and L1 is the lowest total price when the auction closes. The buyer turns it on when creating the bid, and the bid document shows it as Bid to RA enabled.
Firms that will not take part in a live price auction need to know this before they spend a day on the bid, not after technical evaluation.
It is an RA qualification rule the buyer can choose: the highest priced (H1) technically qualified bidder is not invited to the reverse auction. The bid document states the rule and its exceptions, such as when only two or three bidders qualify.
Other exceptions in the bid documents we read cover a bid split among several sellers, a case where eliminating H1 would leave only one manufacturer's product, and an H1 bidder entitled to MSE or Make in India preference within the relevant margin of L1.
L1 is the lowest priced responsive bid under the evaluation method the bid specifies, for example total value wise or item wise. In a two packet bid, only technically qualified bidders' prices are opened and ranked, or they go to reverse auction.
Preferences can move the award away from the raw L1: an MSE within 15% or a Class-I local supplier within 20% may be given the chance to match it.
GeM's terms treat the owner of the brand or trademark as the OEM, or the actual manufacturer for unbranded goods. A seller is either the OEM or a reseller authorised by the OEM to sell its products.
When the buyer's additional terms ask for it, which is common: authorised distributors and resellers submitting a bid must upload the OEM's authorisation with the bid. It is set per bid, not universal, so read the documents required from the seller.
It is the one eligibility item that depends on a third party answering you, so it is the one to check first.
Seller registration on GeM is free, and the government announced in August 2025 that caution money for sellers had been eliminated. Transaction charges apply to orders above a value threshold, and the government said at the same time that 97% of orders are exempt.
Caution money slabs of Rs 5,000 to Rs 25,000 by turnover are still quoted online. They no longer apply.
Yes. GeM's list of bids and their bid documents can be opened without logging in. You register as a seller only to bid.
The GeM bid document opens directly from a link, with no session, which is why every GeM row in a ScanX digest links straight to it.
No. On 22 August 2026 the GeM mirror on CPPP carried 35,469 ongoing bids against 48,069 on GeM itself, 26% fewer. GeM also has the more reliable titles, which is what matching against your products depends on.
ScanX reads GeM itself rather than its copy on CPPP, which on 22 August 2026 carried 26% fewer bids. For each match it opens the bid document and reads 20 fields, including reverse auction, OEM authorisation and the invited sellers.