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Writer's pictureRajwinder Singh

How to participate in Government Tenders / Sell to Government?

The 'General Financial Rules (GFR) 2017' is the base document which lays down methodology for any procurement by the Government of India. Some Ministries and Departments have also published their own instructions for procurement of Goods, Services, Works and even Consultation, however these instructions remain in conformity to the GFR 2017. A supplier can sell to Government entities in broadly one of the following ways:-

 


 

Let us now somewhat amplify these procurement options.


1. Directorate General of Supplies & Disposal (DGS&D) The DGS&D is the central purchase organization of the Government of India, functioning under the Ministry of Commerce & Industry. It comprises of following main wings:

  • Purchase

  • Quality Assurance

  • Shipping- clearance and forwarding

  • Registration

  • Training and consultancy

The functions of Wings are carried out through Purchase and Quality Assurance Directorates in the Headquarters Office in New Delhi and Regional Offices. DGS&D is also tasked with fixing Rate Contracts (RC) for common user items required by various Government organizations through an online e-procurement portal. Presently, it is being managed by two organized Group ‘A’ Services namely Indian Supply Service and Indian Inspection Service. The detailed Manual for DGS&D can be looked up at the following link:- https://cga.nic.in/writereaddata/DGS&DManual.pdf


The suppliers who are enlisted / registered with central procurement agencies like the DGS&D get benefits like exemption from Earnest Money Deposit & Tender Fee.


Rate Contract In accordance with Rule 148 of GFR 2017, DGS&D is mandated to conclude rate contracts with the registered suppliers for such goods, which are not available on GeM, and are identified as common use items and are needed on recurring basis by various Central Government Ministries or Departments. Rate contract primarily means a contract between buyer & supplier with willingness of a supplier to supply his product at a fixed price (quoted by the Supplier) for a defined period of time, as mandated by the contract.

  • The rates are offered by suppliers for items / products / Services against generic specifications / qualitative requirements, 'Terms & Conditions' given by DGS&D. Once the commercial offers are received by DGS&D, it undertakes a background check of the firm and also undertakes quality / compliance check for the product offered.

  • Generally more than one supplier would have quoted their price of product & would be part of the DGS&D Rate Contract.

  • When a supplier requests for lowering his rate, the same is informed to all other firms who are part of that contract and they are also given an opportunity to revise their rates. This is done to offset chances to a supplier trying to win a contract through inside information on a likely purchase.

  • All Government entities can directly place supply order to the supplier with the lowest quote in the Rate Contract.

Government-e-Market Place Portal (GeM) The GeM portal is quite similar to any other e-Commerce platform. The registration on GeM portal is quite simple and is done online by furnishing the basic information of your business. It is compulsory for all Government bodies / entities to procure products from the GeM portal. Only in case a product (Costing upto Rs 5 Lakh) is not available on the GeM portal, the procurement can be processed through local procurement / Advertised Tendering, after duly attaching a Non Availability Certificate of GeM portal. Therefore the quantum of business on GeM is very heavy and suppliers make a handsome turnover. The options of creating a tender bid & reverse auction are also available on GeM. The important aspects that a seller needs to be aware of, for selling on GeM are as under:-

  • Only Director (s) / Partner (s) / Proprietor (as applicable) are authorized to become Primary User and register any legal entity on GeM as Seller.

  • Once Seller/Service Provider is registered and account is created on GeM, the Primary user of the Seller/Service Provider can create Secondary User Accounts within Seller/Service Provider Organization with different Roles and Responsibilities.

  • Sellers are required to offer minimum discount of 10% on the Maximum Retail Price(MRP) mandatorily (unless otherwise specified for offering their products onGeM). Sellers are free to offer higher discounts.

  • Since GeM is a trust based Portal, the complete accuracy and integrity of data submitted in respect of the Seller and also in respect of the Goods /Services offered on GeM will be the sole responsibility of the Seller/Service Provider. Seller will be liable for administrative action as per GeM terms and conditions in case of any discrepancy / infirmity in any data / information submitted on GeM.

  • Seller can offer any number of products.

  • GeM would not allow creation of any fresh data related to Seller identity onGeM portal. All details provided by the Seller at the time of registration would be counter checked / verified through other data bases of Government such as PAN, MCA 21, Udyog Aadhaar etc. For Financial details, PAN / Income tax Database shall be primary validating database and will override any conflicting data in any other database.

  • Where Seller is selling any Goods which needs spare parts, Seller should ensure and make available such spare parts for a minimum period of three years from the date of expiry of warrantee period (unless otherwise specified).

2. Direct Procurement, Without Quotation This is like going out for shopping in market & simply picking up what you require. Well it does have some riders attached though-

  • Done for Local Procurement - When the Goods are required urgently & are not available through Central Procurement Agencies.

  • Governed by Rule 154 (For Goods upto Rs 25,000/-) by rendering a self certificate, as mentioned in this Rule or under Rule 155 (For Goods upto Rs 2,50,000/-) through market survey by purchase committee & after rendering a certificate by the purchase committee, as specified in this Rule.

3. Advertised Tender Enquiry This is the category under which all the tenders are published. The types of tenders which can be published by the government entities are as under:-

  • Global Tender Enquiry As the name suggests in this case the tenders are invited from any firm globally. The global tenders are invited once it has been ascertained that the desired product is not available domestically or where adequate domestic suppliers are not available for competitive bidding.

  • Open Tender Enquiry Under this category tender bids are invited from any domestic firm which can supply the goods / services. Additional pre qualification criteria may be imposed w.r.t financial turn over, manufacturer / Authorized Dealer /Reseller allowed or not, Minimum quantity supplied in previous years etc.

  • Limited Tender Enquiry This type of tender is issued when only 2-3 known suppliers exist. The tenders are addressed directly to those firms.

  • Single Tender Enquiry As the name suggests this tender is issued when there is only one known supplier for the desired product.

  • Proprietary Article Certificate (PAC) Procurement The proprietary article certificate is issued to a firm once it is certified that the technology is owned by a firm / supplier by having registered rights of proprietary.

Conclusion Participation in government tender offers and selling to the government is a fantastic way of getting exponential growth for your business. The procurement process of the government is very well quantified and once you have reasonable insight into the nuances of this procurement methodology, there is no looking back. https://managemytender.com/ is one place where you can get complete support for participating in government procurement process. The free plans also give you a detailed insight for taking the first steps towards enhancing your business.


So why do you think only a handful of suppliers are regularly participating in the government tendering, when there are hundreds of tenders uploaded almost everyday?

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