The government has said that buyers’ organisations will have to pay one percent interest per month on late payment to vendors for purchases made on the Government e-Marketplace (GeM) platform. Office of the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in a tweet said that in order to promote greater discipline and timeliness in payment to vendors, especially Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises- MSMEs, the government has issued an order to levy interest on late payment.

This will be applicable for all procurements made from 1st of October this year. For procurement made on GeM, buyers are mandated to make payments within 10 calendar days after generation of Consignee Receipt and Acceptance Certificate (CRAC) on the GeM. The Government has been repeatedly emphasising the need for prompt payment to vendors specially MSME vendors.

However, the interest amount will be deposited in an account maintained by GeM. This interest will not be paid to the vendor and will be kept by GeM in a separate account which will be used only for the education of sellers and buyers or other purposes related to GeM of public procurement with the prior approval of the Department of Expenditure.