Documents Needed to Bid on Public Tenders in India (2026)

This is the checklist behind an Indian government bid: who issues each registration and certificate, who may handle it for you, what it costs, how long it takes and how long it lasts. For the bidding process itself (where tenders appear, eligibility, evaluation and award), see How to bid on government tenders in India. Where we already have a full guide to one step, we link to it rather than repeat it.

Before you bid

India has two families of portals, and they decide who can do what. On GeM, your company’s Primary User can add named Secondary Users. On CPPP, NIC’s GePNIC state portals, defproc and IREPS, the account has one mapped DSC and no delegate seat.

Company identity and tax

Step	Issued by	Who handles it	Cost	Time	Valid for
PAN and TAN	Income Tax Department; allotted at incorporation through MCA SPICe+ for new companies	Can be prepared for you; your signatory signs with their own e-Sign or DSC	—	—	Permanent
GST registration (GSTIN), FORM GST REG-01	GST Network / CBIC and state tax departments	A CA prepares and files it and answers any REG-03 query; your signatory does the Aadhaar authentication and signs	No government fee	7 working days; 3 working days for low-risk applications under Rule 9A; up to 30 days if Aadhaar isn’t authenticated or premises are physically verified	Until cancelled
EPF and ESIC employer codes	EPFO and ESIC, through Shram Suvidha (SPICe+ for new companies)	Can be prepared for you; you submit from your own Shram Suvidha account with your own DSC	No registration fee	—	Permanent, kept active by monthly returns

PAN is a mandatory field on GeM, CPPP and GST and is matched against your income-tax returns. GSTIN is optional for GeM registration but asked for by most goods and services tenders. Manpower, facility-management, security and works tenders ask for EPF and ESIC codes and recent challans.

Financial records. Every turnover or financial criterion is checked against your audited statements, ITR acknowledgements and GST returns (GSTR-1/3B). You download them from your own income-tax and GST accounts, free and in minutes if already filed. GeM needs ITRs for the last 3 years once your business is more than 24 months old, and your turnover there must be updated after 15 October each year.

Your digital signature

A Class 3 DSC on a USB token, in your signatory’s own name with your company as the organisation, is what CPPP, GePNIC, defproc and IREPS need to log in, sign and submit. A Certifying Authority licensed by the Controller of Certifying Authorities issues it (eMudhra, Sify, Capricorn, VSign and others).

Cost: about ₹2,000–3,000 depending on validity, per CPPP guidance; resellers charge about ₹1,770–3,600 for 2 years. No government fee.
Time: 3–7 days; a new DSC can take up to 24 hours to activate on CPPP.
Valid: 1–2 years.
Who does it: the application can be arranged for you, but the signatory completes e-KYC and video verification personally and keeps the token and PIN.

On GeM, Aadhaar or PAN e-Sign is an accepted alternative. Which DSC to buy and how to install it: DSC for e-tendering.

Portal accounts

Portal	Run by	Who handles it	Cost	Time	Valid for
CPPP / GePNIC / defproc bidder enrolment	NIC for the Department of Expenditure	Data prepared for you; your signatory creates the account on your own device and registers their own DSC	Free from NIC (some organisations or states add fees)	About 15 minutes online, plus up to 24 hours for a new DSC; some states approve enrolments first	As long as the business exists; re-map the DSC on renewal
IREPS vendor registration (Indian Railways)	CRIS	The ‘New Vendors’ request is prepared for you; your signatory signs it with a Class III DSC	Free	At least 3 clear working days	Re-register whenever the DSC is renewed
GeM seller or service-provider registration	GeM SPV, Ministry of Commerce	A director, partner or proprietor registers as Primary User with their own Aadhaar or PAN OTP, then adds Secondary Users who complete the profile	Free; caution money discontinued in 2025	Basic registration the same day; bid-ready once ITR, PFMS bank and Udyam checks clear	Ongoing
GeM vendor assessment (OEMs and service providers in many categories)	RITES Ltd for GeM	A Secondary User prepares the application and evidence; a director signs Annexure-II on notarised ₹100 stamp paper, or your statutory auditor signs it on letterhead with a UDIN	OEM ₹871.61–3,486.44 + GST; reseller ₹217.90–871.61 + GST (2024 policy)	Exemption requests 2 working days	3 years; reapply 2 months before expiry
GeM brand approval and OEM authorisation	GeM; the OEM	The brand request is filed for you; only the OEM can issue its authorisation	Free	Brand approval 4 working days	As set by the OEM’s authorisation

One IREPS registration covers all zonal railways and production units, and the firm name, user and address must match the DSC. Vendor assessment is waived for turnover of ₹500 crore or more, PSUs, OEMs holding a BIS licence for the category and others. On GeM, a seller pays 0.30% of order value above ₹10 lakh (capped at ₹3 lakh per order), and the seller FAQ also lists an Annual Milestone Charge of ₹10,000 + GST. The full walkthrough is in How to register on GeM.

Status registrations that change what you pay

Registration	Issued by	Who handles it	Cost	Time	Valid for
Udyam (MSME)	Ministry of MSME	Prepared for you; the owner or signatory completes it with their own Aadhaar OTP	Free	Same day	Permanent; updated annually from ITR and GST data
NSIC Single Point Registration (manufacturers and service providers, not traders)	NSIC	Prepared from your Udyam data; you submit on nsicspronline.com, pay NSIC and host the inspection	By turnover and category; SC/ST units ₹100 + GST; 20% concession in the North East	—	2 years; renew up to 6 months before expiry
DPIIT startup recognition	DPIIT, via the National Single Window System	The write-up can be drafted for you, but DPIIT says the startup files on its own, from its own NSWS account, mobile and email	Free	Usually within 2 working days of a complete application	While you meet the age and turnover limits
DPIIT registration under GFR Rule 144(xi) (bidders linked to a land-border country)	DPIIT Registration Committee, with MHA and MEA clearances	You apply and disclose beneficial ownership yourself	—	—	—

The 25% annual MSE procurement target earmarks 4% for SC/ST-owned and 3% for women-owned MSEs; you self-declare that category in Udyam. What these registrations are worth in a bid: MSME benefits in government tenders.

Licences and certificates some tenders require

ISO 9001, 14001, 45001: a certification body accredited by NABCB (or another IAF member) audits your system; a 3-year cycle with annual surveillance audits. Check the body on NABCB’s directory or IAF CertSearch.
ISO/IEC 27001 for IT, cloud and e-governance work, on the same 3-year cycle; government applications are separately audited by CERT-In empanelled auditors.
BIS Standard Mark or Certificate of Conformity for goods under a Quality Control Order. The manufacturer applies to BIS itself, with product testing and inspection.
PSARA licence for security-guard services, from the state’s Controlling Authority; the agency’s owner or director files and signs it.

With your bid

CA certificates with a UDIN. Turnover (average or year-wise), net worth, working capital and, where the tender allows them, provisional unaudited figures are certified by a practising chartered accountant in the tender’s format, each with an 18-digit UDIN that the buyer can verify with ICAI. A turnover certificate covers the tender’s financial years; net worth and working capital are stated as of the date the tender asks for. You provide the audited accounts, bank statements or trial balance and confirm the figures.

Local content (Make in India). You self-certify your percentage (Class-I at least 50%, Class-II at least 20%) and the place of value addition, for purchases of ₹5 lakh or more. Above ₹10 crore a certificate is also needed: for a company, from its statutory or cost auditor; otherwise from a practising CA or cost accountant. You provide the true cost breakup and sign. Only Class-I and Class-II suppliers may bid below ₹200 crore unless a global tender is approved.

Affidavits and undertakings. Not blacklisted, documents genuine, no relatives in the buyer, and similar statements, sworn on stamp paper. You sign in person before a notary, who attests and stamps them; they’re usually dated for the specific tender.

Board resolution and power of attorney. Needed when the person signing the bid, and holding the DSC, isn’t a director, and for a non-director’s organisational DSC. Your board passes the resolution; a director executes the power of attorney on non-judicial stamp paper before a notary. The attorney is a director or employee of your company. Many tenders insist on their own format.

Experience certificates. Copies of past supply or work orders with completion certificates and client contacts, authenticated by your bid signatory. Only your past clients can issue them, which makes them the slowest item to collect.

Integrity Pact. Larger tenders, PSU and defence tenders attach the CVC-model pact. Your bid signatory signs every page and truthfully discloses any payments to agents, brokers or other intermediaries; a bid without it is non-responsive. It stays in force until the contract is completed.

EMD, or the exemption. Ordinarily 2–5% of estimated value, from your bank (bank guarantee, e-BG on the NeSL platform, demand draft, FDR), an insurer (Insurance Surety Bond), or paid online, and valid 45 days beyond the final bid validity. Only your company can apply to its bank; an e-BG reaches the buyer within minutes once issued, but a new-to-bank client needs a credit limit first. On GeM, buyers may ask for EMD only on bids above ₹5 lakh. Qualifying MSE manufacturers and service providers with Udyam, and DPIIT-recognised startups, claim the exemption instead, signed by the bid signatory with the certificate attached; where the buyer allows, a Bid Securing Declaration replaces EMD for everyone. Amounts, refunds and rejections: What is EMD?.

Tender and processing fees. Central rules say normally no document fee should be charged, but many state and PSU tenders charge one, plus a portal processing fee (Rajasthan’s RISL fee is ₹500–2,000 per tender). You pay it from your own account; it’s non-refundable.

Submission.

GeM: a Secondary User with the Bid/RA role can participate, select the offer and upload documents. You set the price, approve every eligibility claim (MSE, Make in India, experience) and verify the bid with your own e-Sign or DSC. Live price bidding in a reverse auction is your decision, made by your own user.
CPPP, GePNIC, defproc, IREPS: your DSC holder logs in with their password and DSC, signs each document into the technical and price covers, uploads the protected BoQ, enters EMD details and clicks ‘Freeze Bid Submission’, then saves the acknowledgement. Resubmitting before the deadline overwrites the bid. Any physical EMD original must reach the tender officer by the deadline.

If you’re in line for award

Requirement	Issued by	Amount	Deadline	Valid for	What only you do
Performance security (PBG, e-BG, Insurance Surety Bond; ePBG on GeM)	Your bank or insurer	3–5% of contract value for goods and services; 3–10% for works	Within 15 days of award on GeM	60 days beyond all contractual obligations, warranty included	Arrange it with your bank
Contract insurance (goods in transit, all-risk, works insurances)	An insurer regulated by IRDAI	As the contract sets	Before the contract	The contract period	Buy the policy
Contractor licence for contract labour (OSH Code, 2020)	Central or state licensing officer, via Shram Suvidha or the state’s portal	Per central or state rules	Before the contract	—	File and sign as the employer

MSEs aren’t exempt from performance security. The contract-labour licence, under the code in force from 21 November 2025, replaces the old per-establishment licences, and single or all-India licences are possible. Shortfall-document requests and clarifications during evaluation are answered from your own account.

Who does what

Step	Who can do it	What only you do
PAN, TAN, EPF, ESIC	Prepared by a CA or adviser	Sign with your signatory’s own e-Sign or DSC
GST registration	A CA prepares and files	Aadhaar authentication; sign or verify
Class 3 DSC	A licensed Certifying Authority, arranged for you	e-KYC and video verification; keep the token and PIN
CPPP / GePNIC / IREPS account	Data prepared for you	Create the account, register the DSC, keep the password
GeM registration and profile	A Secondary User you create	Register as Primary User; create and later deactivate seats
Vendor assessment	A Secondary User prepares; RITES assesses	A director signs Annexure-II (or your auditor does); host any site visit
Udyam, NSIC, DPIIT startup	Prepared for you	Aadhaar OTP, submit from your own account, pay any fee
CA certificates (UDIN)	A practising CA	Confirm the figures
Local-content certificate above ₹10 crore	Statutory or cost auditor, practising CA or cost accountant	Give the true cost breakup; sign the self-certificate
Affidavits, power of attorney	A notary attests	Sign in person; pass the board resolution
Experience certificates	Request letters drafted for you	Ask your past clients; authenticate the copies
EMD and performance security	Your bank or insurer; guarantee text drafted for you	Apply and provide limit or margin
Bid submission	Prepared by advisers; on GeM, uploaded by a Secondary User	Set the price, approve the claims, sign and submit

The professionals involved

Professional	Licensed or regulated by	What they do for a bidder
Chartered accountant in practice	ICAI (Certificate of Practice)	Turnover, net-worth, working-capital and provisional-figures certificates with UDIN; local-content certificates for non-companies; GeM Annexure-II as your statutory auditor; GST registration; bid preparation as management consultancy; works on GeM as a named Secondary User
Cost accountant or cost auditor	ICMAI	Certifies local content above ₹10 crore (the cost auditor for companies, a practising cost accountant for others)
Notary public	Central or state government, under the Notaries Act, 1952	Attests affidavits, undertakings and the power of attorney for the bid signatory
Tender or GeM consultant	Unregulated	Eligibility check, compliance matrix, document set and BoQ; GeM profile and catalogue as a Secondary User; guides your DSC holder through submission
Bank or insurer	RBI (banks); IRDAI (insurers)	EMD and performance security as bank guarantee, e-BG on NeSL, demand draft, FDR or Insurance Surety Bond
Certification body	NABCB (Quality Council of India), an IAF member	ISO 9001, 14001, 45001 and ISO/IEC 27001 audits and certificates
Indian agent of a foreign principal	The procuring ministry or PSU (optional enlistment), under GFR Rule 152	Quotes for a foreign manufacturer where the buyer allows it

If your company is from abroad

You don’t need an Indian entity to bid on the central portal, but GeM needs an Indian PAN and CIN, so selling there takes an Indian subsidiary or a Deemed OEM partner; the routes and the Make in India limits are in How foreign companies can bid for Indian government tenders, and the UK route in UK companies bidding for Indian government tenders. For the paperwork:

Tax identity: on CPPP and GePNIC, enrol as Bidder Type ‘Foreign’ with the dummy PAN TEMPZ9999Z.
DSC: portals accept only DSCs from Indian Certifying Authorities, which issue ‘Class 3, signing usage only’ certificates to foreign individuals remotely against passport, address proof, organisation proof and an authorisation letter, all apostilled or consular-attested. Allow for the token to be couriered abroad.
Apostille: India has been in the Hague Apostille Convention since 2005, so a foreign apostille counts as fully legalised; otherwise use consular attestation. Global tender documents are in English, so other records need an English translation.
Board resolution, power of attorney, affidavits: executed abroad before a local notary, then apostilled or consular-attested.
Financial certificates: home-country audited accounts and an equivalent certificate from your own auditor or bank; the UDIN rule applies only to Indian CAs.
EMD and performance security: above ₹5 lakh, and for foreign bidders in global tenders, the bank guarantee may have to be issued or confirmed by a commercial bank in India, in an equivalent foreign-currency amount; performance security follows URDG 758 in the contract currency. The MSE and startup EMD exemptions aren’t open to foreign bidders.
UK suppliers: in covered central tenders you select ‘Avail FTA Option’ on CPPP at submission and certify origin and content truthfully.
Indian agents: a foreign principal quoting through an Indian agent submits a certified copy of the agency agreement and discloses the agent and the commission (normally not more than 5%, paid in INR).
Insurance: on CIF, CIP or DDP terms you arrange marine or air insurance naming the purchaser as beneficiary.

Pitfalls

Never lend your DSC, PIN, e-Sign OTP or portal password, not even to your own consultant. The law puts sole control on the holder, and CPPP tells bidders not to lend DSCs.
Submit from your own device, network, mobile and email. Delhi High Court cases have turned on competing bids that shared a common IP address or mobile number.
Check the land-border rule first. Without DPIIT registration under Rule 144(xi), a bidder linked to a neighbouring country can’t bid in any Indian procurement.
Don’t claim what you can’t prove. Every MSE, startup, local-content, experience and turnover claim is your own attestation; a false local-content claim can mean debarment for up to two years.
Check a CA certificate’s UDIN on ICAI’s portal before you upload it.
Use the tender’s own format for affidavits, the power of attorney and the guarantee text.
Renew before expiry: the DSC (then re-map it on CPPP and re-register on IREPS), vendor assessment, NSIC registration and your GeM turnover each October.
Don’t share a representative or agent with a competing bidder. Bidders that have the same legal representative or agent for the purposes of a bid are disqualified for conflict of interest, and under the Code of Integrity your agent’s conduct counts as your own.
A foreign principal and its Indian agent can’t both bid in the same tender, and one agent can’t quote for two manufacturers in it.

Doing it with askTender

In India, your Partner works on GeM as a named Secondary User, but on CPPP, GePNIC and IREPS your DSC holder logs in, signs and freezes the bid in a guided session. We prepare everything before that. The askTender Desk prepares the forms, drafts and document packet and coordinates the certificates; askTender Partners, such as a chartered accountant or a notary, do the steps their licence covers; you sign only what the law reserves to you.

Questions

Which registrations does an Indian company need before its first government bid?

PAN, usually a GSTIN, a Class 3 DSC for the person who signs, and a bidder account on each portal you’ll use: CPPP or the state’s GePNIC portal, IREPS for railways, and GeM for marketplace bids. Udyam registration is optional but unlocks the MSE benefits. Bidders linked to a country sharing a land border with India also need DPIIT registration under GFR Rule 144(xi).

Can a consultant or CA submit my bid for me?

On GeM, partly: your Primary User can create a named Secondary User for them, who prepares the bid under their own login, while your own user does the final e-Sign or DSC verification. On CPPP, GePNIC, defproc and IREPS there’s no delegate seat and only one DSC per account, so your DSC holder logs in, signs each file and clicks ‘Freeze Bid Submission’; others prepare the packet.

What is a UDIN and why do buyers want it?

An 18-digit Unique Document Identification Number that a practising chartered accountant generates for each certificate, such as turnover, net worth or working capital. It lets the buyer verify on ICAI’s portal that the certificate is genuine.

Who must certify local content under Make in India?

The bidder self-certifies its local-content percentage and place of value addition. Above ₹10 crore a certificate is also needed: from the statutory or cost auditor for a company, or from a practising CA or cost accountant for others. A false declaration can lead to debarment for up to two years.

How long does GeM vendor assessment last, and what does it cost?

3 years; reapply at least 2 months before expiry. Under the 2024 policy the fee runs from ₹871.61 to 3,486.44 plus GST for OEMs and ₹217.90 to 871.61 plus GST for resellers, by turnover band, paid directly to RITES. Exemption requests take 2 working days.

When is a performance security due on GeM?

Within 15 days of award, as an ePBG. It is 3–5% of contract value for goods and services and 3–10% for works, and stays valid 60 days beyond all contractual obligations, warranty included.

Sources

This guide explains the rules in plain English; it isn’t legal advice. Procurement rules change, and each tender document sets its own conditions — it always prevails.