Guides for contractors
Plain answers to the questions that come up before a bid: what EMD is, how a tender document is put together, what the eligibility criteria actually ask for, and how bidding on a government portal works.
28 guides · every one cites its sourceBefore you bid
Working out whether a tender is worth your time, and what it asks of you.
EMD in government tenders — what it is, and when you don't pay itHow much, in what form, when you get it back — and when you are exempt from paying it.How to read a tender notice without missing anythingWhat each part of an Indian government tender document means — NIT, BOQ, GCC and SCC, critical dates, eligibility and corrigenda — and the lines that disqualify bids.Tender eligibility explained — turnover, similar works and contractor classHow Indian government tenders word their qualification criteria, what "similar work" really means, and how to prove turnover, experience and solvency.Contractor registration and class — what you need before you can bidHow contractor enlistment and vendor empanelment work with CPWD, state PWDs, PSUs and municipal bodies in India, which class allows which value of work, and what the paperwork asks for.Why bids get rejected before the price is even openedMost bids die on paperwork, not on price. The mistakes that cost contractors the job.
Pricing the work
Getting to a number you can live with.
Pricing a small works tender — a worked exampleWorking from cost to a number you can actually live with, overheads and profit included.CPWD DSR — what the Delhi Schedule of Rates is, and how contractors use itThe schedule CPWD estimates its works from, what is inside it, how the Analysis of Rates builds each rate up, and why a percentage-rate tender means you are bidding against the DSR rather than your own rates.Tender fees, processing charges and what they buy youTender document fees, portal processing charges, who is exempt, and why the fee is almost never the real cost of bidding.GST on government works contracts — what contractors get wrongWhether your quoted rate includes GST, the 2% the department deducts from every bill, which input tax credit you can and cannot claim, and the records GST law expects you to keep for each contract.
Money you are owed
Security, retention, and getting paid for work already done.
Performance security and the performance bank guarantee (PBG) — percentage, validity and costWhat you must furnish after winning a government tender — the performance bank guarantee or PBG, the percentage under GFR Rule 171, how long it stays valid, what your bank charges for it, and when it is forfeited.Using a bank guarantee to unlock money the client is holdingYour retention money is sitting with the client earning you nothing. How to get it back.Getting paid as a subcontractor — what to do before the money stopsThe client has stopped paying. What you can do about it, and the law that is on your side.
Portals and procedure
The rules the departments work to, and the systems you bid through.
How to bid on a government e-procurement portal (CPPP and state portals)Step by step: registration, Class 3 digital signature, downloading the bid pack, filling the BOQ and submitting before the deadline on GePNIC portals.The digital signature you need to bid, and how to get oneWhat a Class 3 DSC is, how to buy one, what it costs, and the token and browser problems that stop bids going in on deadline day.The GeM portal explained — what it is, who sells on it, and how to registerHow GeM works, how it differs from a tender portal, and what it takes to sell on it.GeM and the tender portals — how they differ, and why it mattersGovernment e-Marketplace works as a catalogue with bids on top, not like a state e-procurement portal. What that changes for a seller or contractor.IREPS explained — how Indian Railways tenders work, and why you need a login to see themRailways runs its own portal on its own rules. What IREPS covers, and why you cannot browse it the way you browse a state portal.CPWD e-Tenders and Tender Wizard — two different systems, and which one you actually needA lot of people search for "CPWD Tender Wizard". The two are not the same system, and registering on the wrong one costs you a week.GFR 2017 procurement rules — 149, 159, 161, 170 and 171 explainedThe General Financial Rules that set why a tender was advertised at all, when EMD can be waived, who has to publish notices, and what the code of integrity forbids — with the rule numbers, so you can quote them.How to find the right tenders on TenderDhundoSearch by trade, place, department or tender ID across 48 government portals, filter by value and deadline, and share a filtered list with your team.
More
Extension of time and liquidated damages — the notice that saves the moneyThe delay was the department's. The penalty is still yours, unless you wrote to them in time.How to bid on GeM, step by stepEverything that has to be true before you can bid, and then every step in order.Getting paid on GeM — delivery, CRAC and payment, questions answeredThe order is won. What PRC and CRAC are, when the payment clock starts, and what to do when it stops.Selling on GeM — registration, categories and listings, questions answeredThe questions that come up between signing up and being able to bid.Services on GeM — manpower, housekeeping and transport, questions answeredOn a manpower bid you do not quote the wage. You quote a service charge of a few per cent — and carry every risk underneath it.Getting legal help on a tender or payment disputeMost tender disputes do not need a lawyer. Here is how to tell which ones do.What MSME registration actually gets you in government tendersUdyam registration is free and takes ten minutes. Most contractors never claim half of what it gives them.Filing a delayed payment case on MSME Samadhaan — how it actually worksIt is online, it costs nothing to start, and the buyer has to deposit 75 per cent of the award before it can even appeal.
Rules change and departments word them differently. Every guide cites its source, but the tender document you are bidding on overrides all of it.