GeM payment delayed: how do you get the buyer to pay your bill?

By Gaurav Gupta, Founder & CEO, GGA India

Last reviewed: 9 November 2026

Direct answer. A delayed GeM payment is usually stuck before the 10-day clock starts or after the bill leaves GeM. Check the order. No CRAC: acceptance is pending. A CRAC but no payment: the bill sits with the payment authority. Fix what your file lacks, then raise the matching GeM incident. Micro and small sellers can also claim MSMED Act interest.

GGA India at a glance

GGA India Private Limited is a B2B revenue-realization firm, operating since 2002, headquartered in Gurugram.
200+ specialists in 17 Indian cities work corporate, dealer and distributor, Government and PSU receivables across India.
Success commission is based on cash actually received. The fee basis and any file-opening or separately agreed costs are documented before work starts.
Your customers pay you directly. GGA never receives or holds your money.
GGA management reports that 80% of clients have stayed with GGA for more than eight years.

The problem: the GeM rule says 10 days, but the clock starts only at the CRAC

Most delayed GeM orders are not late under GeM's own rule, because the step that starts the clock never happened.

You delivered and uploaded your invoice; the order still shows no payment. The money is rarely refused. It waits on a certificate, a bill or a fund line that nobody is watching, so chasing harder rarely helps. If you searched for a "collection agency for GeM payments", GGA is not one in that sense. We don't touch the money your sales team sells. We collect the money nobody owns, and a delivered GeM order with no CRAC is exactly that.

GeM's General Terms and Conditions set the sequence. A Provisional Receipt Certificate (PRC) on receipt; acceptance or rejection within 10 days, unless the bid says otherwise; then the Consignee Receipt and Acceptance Certificate (CRAC). Payment is due within 10 days of the CRAC. Four people sit between those steps: consignee, inspecting officer, buyer and payment authority.

Exhibit 1: Where a GeM order stops between delivery and your bank

Step	What GeM expects	Where it sticks	Test you can apply
1. Delivery and PRC	PRC on receipt; GeM training allows 48 hours, then auto-generation	Consignee away, goods received by a different store	No PRC on the order: the receipt was never logged
2. Acceptance and CRAC	Accept or reject within 10 days; GeM auto-generates the CRAC if the consignee stays silent	Inspection pending, a quantity or specification query, an objection never written down	PRC but no CRAC: acceptance is the hold-up
3. Bill on GeM	Seller generates the online bill from the CRAC; it does not replace the GST invoice	Bill not generated, GST invoice mismatch, wrong bank or GSTIN details	CRAC exists but no bill on your side: your file is the gap
4. Payment authority	Payment within 10 days of the CRAC	No funds in the head of account, sanction pending, officer transferred	Bill pushed, no payment initiated: funds or approval
5. Bank credit	Money reaches the account on record	Bank account rejected, deductions unexplained	Shown as paid, not received: trace the transaction reference

Where the money actually travels after the CRAC

The GeM screen is the same for every buyer; the payment rail behind it is not.

A central ministry's bill is pushed from GeM into PFMS, the Controller General of Accounts' payment system, where the drawing and disbursing officer (DDO) and pay and accounts office (PAO) process it. Buyers outside PFMS can use the GeM Pool Account (GPA), funded in full before a product order is placed. If the buyer does not start payment within 10 days of the CRAC, GeM triggers 80% of the value itself. The balance follows within 35 days, after statutory deductions. State Government buyers pay through their own treasury systems. Some states have signed memoranda with GeM; Chhattisgarh's of 2017, for example, commits the state to pay within 10 days of the CRAC.

So "GeM payment not received" can mean an unfunded state treasury bill, an unprocessed PFMS e-bill, a GPA payment never triggered or a rejected bank credit. Each needs a different letter to a different desk.

What the late-payment interest does and does not do

GeM's interest rule penalises the buyer; it does not pay you.

Since 1 October 2020, a central buyer paying more than 10 days after the CRAC, issued or auto-generated, owes penal interest of 1% a month. It goes into an account maintained by GeM, not to the seller. State buyers follow their own rules. Interest that reaches you comes only from the MSMED Act, for micro and small enterprises, or from your contract. If the buyer is a central public sector enterprise and you are a micro or small supplier, a 2026 amendment to the MSMED Act (in force 15 October 2026) also requires it to settle your invoices through TReDS, the RBI-authorised invoice platforms.

Age is the real cost. In GGA's published research, collection rates fall from over 95% of value for invoices up to three months old to about 10% beyond three years, from the invoice date (collection outcomes by invoice age). That covers GGA's engagements only. A GeM bill is usually safer, but a CRAC missed in month one becomes a file nobody can explain in month nine.

The pattern behind it. A delayed GeM order is revenue supplied but not collected: outside your company at the consignee, buyer or payment authority, inside it once your tender team has moved to the next bid. GGA's Invoice Lifecycle Owner is one named person taking the order from delivery to bank credit. See Government revenue realization.

The solutions: seven routes for a GeM payment, and what each leaves to you

GeM's tools move the buyer; only a complete file moves the money.

Exhibit 2: Options when a GeM buyer has not paid, compared

#	Option	What it fixes	What it leaves to you	When it is right
1	Your accounts team, from the order screen	Visible gaps: missing bill, wrong bank detail	Who holds the file after transfers, across many orders	A handful of orders, one or two buyers
2	Your sales or tender team	A quick word with the buyer who placed the order	Their hours belong to the next bid; they rarely know who holds the bill at the payment authority	A first reminder on a recent order
3	GeM incident: "Delay in CRAC generation" or "Delay in payment post CRAC generation"	Formal record; the buyer has 7 days; escalation sends an automatic show-cause notice	It does not pay you, and it cannot add funds to an empty head of account	Once the file is complete and the buyer is silent
4	MSMED Act claim through the Ministry of MSME's online dispute resolution portal	Statutory interest at three times the RBI bank rate; conciliation, then arbitration	Medium enterprises and traders are outside it; it is slow	Micro or small seller, acceptance on record, 45 days crossed
5	An agency that simply chases harder	Persistence	Pressure on a public officer helps nobody and can expose you; it cannot generate a CRAC	Rarely the right fit for Government orders
6	Lawyer, under the GeM dispute clause	Rejections, deductions, contract disputes	Cost, time, the buyer relationship	A rejection or deduction contested on merits
7	A receivables partner such as GGA	One owner per order; every certificate and bill tracked; incidents raised with your agreement	Settle-or-litigate decisions, which stay yours	Many orders, buyers or states, or ageing CRACs

Incidents work best on a complete file: one raised over a bill missing its GST invoice is answered with that fact. Use the MSME delayed-payment route when you need interest and a forum, not a release this month.

What you can do this week

Export every unpaid GeM order with its order date, delivery date, PRC date, CRAC date and amount.
Sort them into five groups: no PRC, no CRAC, CRAC but no bill, bill but no payment, paid but not received.
Fix your own gaps first. Generate missing bills, match each GST invoice to the order and confirm the bank account on GeM.
Write to the consignee on each order without a CRAC, quoting order number, delivery proof and PRC date.
For CRACs over 10 days old, name the payment authority and raise the delay-in-payment incident if the file is clean.
Check your Udyam registration if you are a micro or small enterprise.

Why GGA: one owner for every order, from delivery to bank credit

GeM gives you the screens; it does not give you someone who reads them every week.

GGA works the timing and the queue, never the decision: documentation and approvals only. Nothing is offered to any official, and nobody is asked for a favour.

The order map first. Each unpaid order on Exhibit 1's five steps, naming who owes the next action.
Your side cleaned before theirs. GGA checks your bill, GST invoice, bank and GSTIN details as the payment authority will. GGA does not raise or submit bills.
The right desk, in writing. Consignee for the CRAC, buyer for the bill, DDO, PAO or state treasury for release. Each letter names the order, certificate dates and the gap it closes.
Incidents with judgement. GGA proposes which incident to raise, and when, on a complete file.
Close-out money too. Bid and performance security follow their own clauses (EMD and guarantee release).

Top of the pile, earned. When funds arrive, the complete, followed-up bill is processed first: a place earned through process, never bought. Before an order ages, Revenue Assurance starts at submission and keeps it moving; once it is overdue, Revenue Realization takes over.

See how GGA works for Government contractors and the invoice life cycle behind each order.

What GGA would do

Within six months, every overdue GeM rupee is in your bank or classified as at risk or not collectable, with the reason evidenced. The labels show order of work, not a promised timetable.

Days 1–5: map every order. You receive: each unpaid order on its step, with the desk that holds it and the date it last moved.
Week 2: close your own gaps. You receive: bills to generate, invoices to correct and bank details to confirm, each with an owner on your side.
Weeks 2–4: write to each desk. You receive: every letter and acknowledgement in one register.
Weeks 3–6: incidents where the file is clean. Raised on your account after discussion with you. You receive: incident numbers, buyer replies and escalation dates.
Month 2 onwards: follow funds and transfers. You receive: a weekly status by order and the expected release window where funds are short.
In parallel: the MSMED file for eligible orders. You receive: a claim-ready chronology, for your decision.

For a medical-equipment supplier to Government and private hospitals, ₹8.1 crore of ₹19.2 crore had come in four months in, and every open rupee had a reason: 63% commercial, 24% deductions, 11% contact not available, 2% credit risk. Success commission is based on cash actually received. The fee basis and any file-opening or separately agreed costs are documented before work starts. A file-opening fee may apply for Government cases. GST extra.

What we need from you

The order numbers and certificate dates are enough to place each order on the map.

To start

GeM order numbers, with buyer organisation and state
Order value, delivery date and the amount unpaid
PRC and CRAC dates, or a screenshot showing they are missing
Any incident already raised, with its status

To act

Delivery proof: challan, consignee receipt or installation report
GST invoice and the GeM bill for each order
Bank account and GSTIN details as registered on GeM
Inspection reports, rejection notes or deduction letters, if any
Udyam registration certificate, for MSMED Act claims
Performance security or bid security details for each contract

Missing some of these? Send what you have — telling you what is missing is part of the first reply.

How you stay in control

Every incident, letter and escalation runs on your account, with your knowledge.

The buyer pays you directly. GGA never receives or holds your money.
Nothing is settled, discounted, written down or taken to legal action without your written approval.
GGA manages the communication with your customers; escalation steps are discussed with you.
One named GGA owner per account; monthly report to your CEO and CFO, a fortnightly review call, and an immediate flash report when a risk appears.
Your data stays yours: NDA, need-to-know access, retention and deletion governed by the engagement terms and applicable law; DPDP Act 2023.
Fees agreed in writing before work starts; six-month term, reviewed with you monthly.
Government matters: documentation and approvals only — GGA works the timing and the queue, never the decision. Nothing is paid or promised to any official; FCPA and UK Bribery Act compliant.
No incident or MSMED claim is filed in your name before you see it.

Send us one delayed GeM order. Email the order number, buyer, state, amount, delivery date and whatever you have from the "To start" list to gg@ggaindia.co.in. Within one working day a named GGA specialist replies with the step where the order is stuck, what we would do first and what is missing from the file — no charge, no obligation. For a whole book, ask for a complimentary Receivables Position Review.

A different situation? Foreign company owed money by an Indian business → India Desk · Indian exporter owed by an overseas buyer → Global Receivables Desk

Frequently asked questions

The CRAC date decides almost every answer below.

How many days does a GeM buyer have to pay?

Ten days from the CRAC under the GeM terms, unless the bid's own conditions differ. Acceptance has its own 10-day window after receipt, so the enforceable clock starts at the CRAC, not at delivery.

My CRAC is pending for weeks. What can I do?

Write to the consignee with the delivery proof and PRC date, asking for acceptance or a written reason. If nothing moves, raise the "Delay in CRAC generation" incident. GeM also auto-generates a CRAC once the acceptance window passes without action.

How do I complain about delayed payment on GeM?

Raise "Delay in payment post CRAC generation" from the order (or its services equivalent). The buyer has 7 calendar days. Escalation to GeM Admin brings a show-cause notice; an unsatisfactory reply reaches the buyer's competent authority and its rating.

Will I get interest for late payment on GeM?

Not from GeM. The 1% a month penal interest on central buyers goes into a GeM account. Micro and small sellers can claim MSMED Act interest at three times the RBI bank rate. Otherwise only your contract terms apply.

Is a state government buyer on GeM bound by the 10-day rule?

GeM's terms apply to the order, but payment runs through the state's treasury. Chhattisgarh's memorandum with GeM, for example, commits the state to the 10-day timeline. Inside the state, its own rules apply (state government pending bills).

Who speaks to the buyer and the payment authority for me?

GGA manages the communication on your authority and discusses every escalation with you first. Nothing is conceded or taken to arbitration without your written approval.

Sources

Each GeM rule on this page traces to an official document below.

This page summarises the position as at 9 November 2026. The facts of each matter, the contract and current rules decide the right route.