GeM Portal Not Working: Seller Login, Registration and Bid Errors (2026)

The exact error strings sellers search for, and what GeM actually documents

• "GeM login error" / "GeM portal login not working" / "GeM login issue today" — not a coded error on gem.gov.in; commonly an expired session, a cached browser, an unsupported browser build, or too many failed password attempts locking the account.
• "Account login disabled" — GeM's own Seller FAQ states this is commonly because the account has not been used for more than 3 months.
• "GeM Portal Internal Server Error" and "GeM Portal Error 404" — not documented by GeM as coded errors. Third-party sources attribute them to high traffic or maintenance windows, but this is not confirmed by GeM itself.
• "GeM portal e1 error" — could not be sourced to any official GeM page or credible third-party documentation. Treat this as either a mistyped/rare bid-validation message or confusion with an unrelated product, not a documented GeM error code.
• "Key Person validation error" / "GeM portal key person validation error" — a documented GeM condition: the name on the registering user's Aadhaar differs from the authorised signatory's name in the organisation's Income Tax Return (ITR).
• "Aadhaar authentication failed in GeM portal" — the OTP for Aadhaar authentication goes only to the mobile number linked to that Aadhaar at UIDAI, not whichever number the user carries day to day.
• "MSE Verification Failed" — GeM's own FAQ states this happens when the entered Udyam registration number has not been validated, usually from an incorrect Udyam number or a mismatched linked mobile number.

Fixing the Aadhaar, PAN, ITR and Key Person validation errors

• Key Person validation failed: go to Seller Profile → Update Aadhaar and enter the Aadhaar of the person who is actually the ITR-authorised signatory, then re-run the validation. Updating Aadhaar this way forces PAN validation to be re-verified as well, so expect that step to run again.
• Aadhaar authentication failed in GeM portal: confirm the mobile number on file with UIDAI (not the number you use daily) is current before retrying, or use the resend-verification-link option. Aadhaar is no longer mandatory for seller registration — sellers can instead use the personal PAN of the authorised signatory as an alternative identity-verification route if the Aadhaar path keeps failing.
• GeM portal OTP not received (outside the Aadhaar step): for OTPs other than the Aadhaar-authentication one, this is usually ordinary network or SMS delay rather than a portal fault. Use the on-portal resend option and allow a short wait before assuming failure; if OTPs never arrive at all, check that the mobile number or email GeM has on file for your User ID is still current.
• GeM portal PAN verification failed / PAN verification service failed: re-enter the name exactly as it appears on the PAN card or organisation PAN record — a mismatched spelling, initials, or organisation name against the Income Tax/NSDL database is the usual cause. If the underlying verification service itself is down, retry later and raise a ticket only if it persists across sessions.
• GeM portal ITR validation failed: the 'Profit and Gains' and 'Sales/Gross Receipts' figures entered on GeM must match the corresponding figures in the actual filed ITR for the selected ITR type (ITR-3/4/5/6) exactly, including the acknowledgement number. Re-check both before resubmitting.
• GeM portal TAN verification failed: this is not documented in GeM's public FAQ. Recheck the TAN against the organisation's TAN allotment letter; if it still fails, raise a ticket with the GeM Helpdesk rather than guessing at a workaround.
• MSE Verification Failed: re-enter the exact Udyam registration number and the mobile number linked to it as shown on the Udyam certificate — the validation is checking both together, not the Udyam number alone.

Primary vs Secondary User, and bank/PFMS validation errors

A large share of GeM registration confusion is not a technical error at all — it is the wrong person trying to register. Only an Owner, Proprietor, Karta, Partner, Director, CEO, Chairman, President, or other authorised organisational personnel is eligible to register as the Primary (seller) User. Everyone else in the organisation has to be added as a Secondary User by that Primary User after the organisation account exists.

A GeM User ID, once created, cannot be edited or deleted. This is the source of most "wrong account" support tickets: someone registers a Secondary User ID under their own name, then later tries to treat it as the organisation's main account, or a departing employee's Primary User ID becomes unusable and cannot simply be renamed to the new authorised signatory. Decide who the Primary User is before registering, because the choice is effectively permanent for that User ID.

• A seller can register multiple bank accounts on GeM, but only one can be marked "Primary Account" via a checkbox in the Bank Details section of the Seller Profile.
• Bank-account validation runs through PFMS (Public Financial Management System). A stuck or unresolved PFMS code is refreshed via the 'PFMS Code Verification' button in the Bank Details section of the Seller Profile.
• Bank account not verified by PFMS blocks bid submission or payment until it clears. If the IFSC code itself does not populate correctly, raise a ticket with the bank name, branch, IFSC and address details rather than repeatedly resubmitting the same entry.

Catalogue and product listing rejections

• Category or technical-parameter mismatch: the single most commonly reported cause of a catalogue rejection is mapping the product into a nearby, similar-looking GeM taxonomy category instead of the exact one, so the category's mandatory technical parameters (dimensions, voltage, material, performance standard, etc.) don't match the actual product. The fix is to remap into the exact category branch and re-enter every mandatory parameter to match the manufacturer's datasheet exactly, not the nearest approximation.
• "A product already exists on the GeM marketplace": another seller has already listed the identical brand with the exact same value for a technical parameter. GeM blocks the duplicate listing — offer or pair against the existing listing instead of trying to create a new one.
• Model number that cannot be verified against the OEM's own website is a documented rejection reason — the listed model number has to be traceable back to the manufacturer's public listing.
• Blurred, edited or tampered catalogue images are rejected under GeM's own image rules — images must be unedited and untampered, not simply a clear photo.

Bid eligibility, ATC, EMD and OEM authorisation problems

• "You are not eligible to participate in this bid": the buyer's stated eligibility conditions — turnover, certifications such as ISO/BIS, prior experience, category, or an ATC-specific requirement — are not currently met by the seller's registered profile. Check every listed condition in the bid's Additional Terms and Conditions (ATC) document before rebidding; this is a buyer-set condition CapEasy cannot alter or influence.
• ATC documents are buyer-attached requirements layered on top of the standard bid terms. A bidder's offer is automatically liable to rejection if any certificate or document the ATC (or a corrigendum to it) calls for is not uploaded — missing one document, not price, is a common reason for an otherwise competitive bid to fail.
• DPIIT-recognised startups get relaxation of prior-experience and prior-turnover eligibility conditions on GeM, and exemption from furnishing Earnest Money Deposit (EMD).
• Under GFR Rule 170, Udyam-registered Micro & Small Enterprises and DPIIT-recognised startups are exempt from furnishing EMD/bid security on GeM — but the exemption depends on the Udyam or DPIIT certificate being valid and current at the time of bidding, not merely on having registered at some point in the past. An expired certificate does not qualify for the waiver. CapEasy prepares Udyam and startup registration so this documentation stays current.
• Where a bid category or ATC requires an OEM Authorisation Certificate (common for IT equipment, medical devices, electrical machinery, electronics and industrial spares), a reseller or authorised-distributor bid must attach the OEM's own authorisation letter naming the OEM's representative and contact details. A bid missing this is rejected on eligibility grounds, before price is even compared.
• The exact on-screen wording and click-path for claiming the Udyam/DPIIT EMD exemption, or for attaching a Bid Security Declaration in place of cash EMD, was not verified against GeM's own bid manual for this guide — treat the GFR Rule 170 mechanics above as reliable, but confirm the current screen labels on the live bid page.

Looks like a portal error but is actually something else

• Looks like: a login bug. Is actually: the account has not been used for more than 3 months and GeM has disabled it — this requires the GeM Helpdesk to reactivate with your User ID and PAN, not a password reset.
• Looks like: a technical PAN/Aadhaar glitch. Is actually: a genuine name mismatch between the Aadhaar of the person registering and the authorised signatory recorded in the ITR — no amount of retrying fixes this; it needs the correct person's Aadhaar entered via Update Aadhaar.
• Looks like: the OTP system is broken. Is actually: the OTP for an Aadhaar-linked step goes only to the mobile number UIDAI has on file for that Aadhaar, which is often not the number the seller checks day to day.
• Looks like: a bad or slow catalogue listing. Is actually: the product was mapped into the wrong category branch, so parameters that look fine to the seller don't match what that category enforces.
• Looks like: the bid system rejected a good offer. Is actually: a required ATC document or OEM authorisation letter was missing from the submission — a documentation gap, not a pricing or ranking problem.
• Looks like: a payment failure. Is actually: the bank account was never PFMS-verified, so GeM blocks the transaction upstream of the payment step itself.

Incidents, account suspension and the appeal window

An "Incident" on GeM is a formal record of a deviation and can be raised against a specific BID number, Contract number, or catalogue by either the buyer or the seller. Both sides get 7 days from the Incident's creation to resolve it directly, using the 'Respond' button on the Incident detail page, before the raising party can escalate it further.

Suspension length from an escalated Incident is severity-based and can increase if a seller accumulates repeat deviations within a defined period — it is not a single fixed penalty. If suspended, the appeal route is through the GeM Helpdesk with the specific supporting documents listed in Clause 8 of the Incident Management Policy, not a separate on-portal appeal button. GeM's policy allows only one such appeal — if it is rejected there is no second appeal on the same Incident, though mutual closure by the other party remains possible.

Automatic self-service closure of a seller account is only available when no catalogues are published on the account and the primary bank account has been added and PFMS-verified. An account cannot be closed at all while it carries an active Incident, an unfulfilled order, or non-zero stock on a published catalogue.

GeM's Incident Management framework is described by third-party trackers as substantially formalised around 2025 — pre-2025 guidance on suspension timelines and appeal routes elsewhere online may not reflect the 7-day window and Clause 8 process now stated on gem.gov.in.

Password reset, portal downtime and how to escalate

• GeM enforces a password policy of 8-20 characters requiring an upper-case letter, a lower-case letter, a number, and a special character — a reset attempt that keeps failing silently is often just not meeting all four conditions at once.
• Forgot Password / password reset: the reset link or OTP is sent only to the mobile number or email address already registered against that User ID. If that contact detail is itself out of date, self-service reset cannot succeed and has to go through the GeM Helpdesk with the User ID and PAN.
• "GeM login error" / "GeM portal login not working" / "login issue today": GeM does not document this as a coded error. It is commonly reported (unconfirmed by GeM) to trace to an expired session, a cached browser, an unsupported browser build, or an account temporarily locked after repeated failed password attempts. Clear your browser cache and cookies and retry on a current version of Chrome or Edge first; if you suspect a lockout, contact the GeM Helpdesk (14550 / 1800-419-3436 / 1800-102-3436) rather than continuing to retry.
• "GeM Portal Error 404": also not documented by GeM as a coded error. It commonly follows a stale or bookmarked deep link, a page moved after a portal version update, or a maintenance window rather than an account-specific fault — re-navigate from the GeM homepage instead of a saved link, clear your cache, and retry.
• For genuine portal downtime ("GeM portal down today", "GeM website not working"), check GeM's official X account (@GeM_India) for outage notices before assuming an account-specific fault, and raise a ticket at gem.gov.in/gemtickets if the issue persists beyond an hour.
• GeM Helpdesk: email helpdesk-gem@gov.in; call the short code 14550 or the legacy numbers 1800-419-3436 / 1800-102-3436, 9:00am-10:00pm Monday to Saturday. Separate helplines exist for Railway procurement (0120-6438300) and Defence & MHA procurement (0120-6438200).
• Walk-in support is available at the 2nd Floor, Jeevan Tara Building, 5-Sansad Marg, Near Patel Chowk, New Delhi-110001, 9:00am-6:00pm Monday to Friday.
• If a GeM Helpdesk ticket goes unresolved or unanswered for an unreasonable period, CPGRAMS (pgportal.gov.in) — the Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System — is the government-wide escalation route, since GeM operates as a public-authority SPV answerable through it.

Primary sources

The dates and fees on this page are read off the statute and the statutes and official portals cited, not copied from other guides. You can check every one of them:

• GeM Seller FAQs
• GeM Incident FAQs
• GeM Additional Terms and Conditions
• GeM Contact Us
• CPGRAMS (public grievance portal)
• TrackTender — EMD exemption for MSMEs (GFR Rule 170)