Delhi. Government e-Marketplace (GeM) has recently announced a massive cut in transaction fees levied on sellers/service providers transacting on its platform in line with the government’s continued commitment to promote ease of doing business and create a more inclusive economy. This bold move was part of the government’s 100 days initiative. Accordingly, the Government e-Marketplace has announced the new revenue policy of the portal which has been implemented from 9 August 2024.
As per this policy:
All orders up to Rs 10 lakh value will now have no transaction fee, whereas earlier this order value limit was Rs 5 lakh.
Orders from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 10 crore will be charged a transaction fee of 0.30 per cent of the total order value, as against 0.45 per cent transaction fee earlier.
Transaction fee has been drastically reduced for orders above Rs 10 crore. It will now attract a flat fee of Rs 3 lakh from Rs 72.5 lakh earlier.
About 97 per cent of transactions on Government e-Marketplace will attract no fee while the remaining will attract a nominal fee at the rate of 0.30 per cent for orders above Rs 10 lakh value, capped at Rs 3 lakh only, irrespective of the order value. This move is a significant step towards ease of doing business on Government e-Marketplace and is also in line with the Government’s commitment to bring down transaction costs. Government e-Marketplace has drastically reduced its transaction fee by about 33 per cent to 96 per cent in one go. This is expected to make sellers/service providers on Government e-Marketplace more competitive.
The latest transaction fee regime aims to democratise access to the public procurement system. It aims to particularly benefit medium and small enterprises, which often face challenges in overcoming cumbersome financial and operational issues. The Government e-Marketplace aims to bring value and innovation opportunities in public procurement to small-scale businesses by significantly reducing transaction fees and creating a level playing field for all.
FY 2024-25 is also a watershed moment for the services sector, with the services sector jumping at a very fast pace and gross merchandise value outpacing product by a good margin. The services gross merchandise value of Rs 1.39 lakh crore as of 31 August 2024 is nearly 65 per cent of the total merchandise value of Rs 2.15 lakh crore in the same period. Several high-value service bids have been awarded on the platform.
This surge in service procurement on the platform is due to a large catalogue of 325+ service categories. With its user-friendly interface, Government e-Marketplace has made it easy for Government buyers to evaluate, select and connect with service providers based on their needs. The transparent e-bidding process of the platform ensures fair competition and also ensures that the Government buyer gets the right partner for his specific requirements.
About Government e-Marketplace:
Government e-Marketplace is an integrated digital platform that facilitates end-to-end procurement of goods and services by various Central Ministries, State Departments, Public Sector Enterprises, Autonomous Bodies, Panchayats, Multi and Single State Cooperative Societies, etc. Government e-Marketplace was created in 2016 due to the concerted efforts of our Prime Minister to use the power of digital platforms to achieve ‘Minimum Government, Maximum Governance’. The online portal was set up with a clear objective to eliminate the old manual public procurement processes that were fraught with inefficiencies and corruption.
Government e-Marketplace provides a paperless, cashless and contactless mechanism for Government buyers to buy products and services directly from all India sellers and service providers through an online platform. Government e-Marketplace covers the entire scope of the procurement process right from seller registration and selection of items by buyers to receipt of goods and timely payment. Government e-Marketplace was conceived to utilize the ease and speed that comes with digital platforms with the primary objective of revitalizing public procurement systems and bringing a lasting change for the underprivileged as well as the nation.
