Finance Ministry Asks Govt Entities Not To Set Excessive Turnover, Staff Criteria on GeM

New Delhi: The Union finance ministry has advised central government entities procuring consultancy services through the government e-marketplace (GeM) portal against prescribing excessively high turnover and payroll requirements, saying such criteria could unnecessarily restrict competition.

In an office memorandum, the Department of Expenditure said that procurement agencies should ensure that the prescribed minimum staff strength in a tender is commensurate with the manpower required for the satisfactory execution of the consultancy assignment.

“Disproportionately high staff strength requirements, without adequate justification, may unnecessarily restrict competition. A sample study of consultancy procurement tenders floated on the GeM over the last three financial years had revealed certain issues about eligibility and qualification criteria,” said the memorandum.

The study, however, revealed instances of comparatively high turnover requirements and of higher weightage being assigned to the consulting firm’s experience rather than to the qualifications and experience of the proposed key personnel. “Minimum staff strength on the bidder’s payroll was prescribed as an eligibility criterion, far exceeding the actual manpower required for execution of the project,” the study showed.