GeM logo.
Credit: gem.gov.in
New Delhi: Public procurement portal Government e-Marketplace (GeM) on Friday announced significant reduction in transaction charges that will benefit sellers, especially micro and small enterprises.
Now there will not be any transaction charge on orders valued up to Rs 10 Lakh. Earlier this limit was Rs 5 lakh. Transaction charge on orders valued from Rs 10 lakh to Rs 10 crore has been slashed by 33 per cent.
Briefing media GeM additional CEO Ajit B Chavan said around 97 per cent of transactions done through GeM portal would not attract any charge as their value is less than Rs 10 lakh.
Transaction charge on orders valued between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 10 crore has been reduced to 0.30 per cent of total order value from 0.45 per cent, a reduction of 33 per cent.
Orders above Rs 10 crore will now pay a flat fee of Rs 3 lakh, earlier it was capped at Rs 72.5 lakh. For the high value transactions the charge has been reduced by 96 per cent. The revised charges will be effective on transactions done August 9 onwards.
“The reduction will impact the total procurement cost of buyers, making government purchases more affordable and encouraging increased participation from suppliers,” Chavan said.
Founded in 2016, GeM facilitates end-to-end procurement of goods and services by the government, including public sector enterprises, autonomous bodies, state departments and Panchayats.
The value of transactions done through GeM portal more than doubled to Rs 4.03 lakh crore in the financial year 2023-24 from Rs 2.01 lakh crore recorded in the previous year. In the current financial year till August 31, the gross merchandise value (GMV) stood at Rs 2.15 lakh crore, which is 95% higher when compared with the corresponding period of the previous year.
Cumulatively, GeM has surpassed Rs 10 lakh crore GMV with over 2.2 crore orders, Chavan said.
The growth in transactions through GeM portal in the past couple of years has been led by the services sector. The share of the services sector in total GMV increased to 65 per cent during April-August period of the current financial year from 40 per cent recorded in the previous year and 26 per cent in 2022-23.
Chavan claimed that GeM has facilitated cost savings of over Rs 1 lakh crore for the government.
“By considerably lowering transaction charges, GeM aims to level the playing field, thereby creating opportunities for small-scale businesses to deliver value and innovation in public procurement,” he added.