How does a manufacturer register on GeM and get its catalogue live? Step by step

Short answer

Register your firm as a seller on GeM, add your Udyam number if you are an MSE, and get OEM rights for your brand through the OEM Panel using a registered trademark (or a valid authorisation). Then list each product in its correct category, filling every technical parameter exactly as your datasheet states. GeM's published turnaround for product approval is 96 hours; most first rejections come from brand documents and technical parameters, not from the product itself.

Key facts

• 68% of the 215 Uttar Pradesh manufacturers we audited in Q3 2026 faced a catalogue rejection at first, due to incorrect technical parameters or missing brand approval documents.
• Once pre-audited, their catalogues were approved in 48 hours on average, against GeM's published turnaround of 96 hours for product approval (GeM Seller FAQs).
• GSTIN is not mandatory to register as a seller, and Aadhaar is no longer mandatory — the authorised signatory can verify identity with personal PAN instead (GeM Seller FAQs).
• Brand approval is requested from My Account → OEM Panel, by uploading brand ownership or trademark documents (GeM Seller FAQs).
• GeM's own list of major product rejection reasons includes "force fitting the technical parameters", unverifiable model numbers and wrong categories (GeM Seller FAQs).

Step 1: How do I set up my GeM seller account and link Udyam?

Seller registration asks for your constitution type (proprietorship, partnership, company, trust or society), the organisation's name and address, bank details, and identity verification of the authorised signatory through Aadhaar or personal PAN (GeM Seller FAQs).

What trips manufacturers up here is usually small and avoidable:

1. Use one legal name everywhere. The name on GeM should match your PAN, bank account, Udyam and trademark records character by character. A mismatch here surfaces later as a brand approval rejection.
2. Choose "register as MSME" and add your Udyam number. GeM asks whether you want to register as an MSME and then takes your Udyam details (GeM Seller FAQs). For a manufacturer, this is what lets buyers apply Micro and Small Enterprise purchase preferences to your bids. Bid documents typically extend MSE benefits to manufacturers, not traders (sample GeM bid document).
3. Know the ITR rule. Organisations incorporated less than two years ago can be exempted from uploading ITR during registration (GeM Seller FAQs).
4. GSTIN is not required to register, but you will want it on your profile before you sell.

Step 2: How does brand approval work, and what trademark documents does GeM need?

To sell your own brand as an OEM, go to My Account → OEM Panel, choose Request OEM Authority for Brand, select the category and brand, and upload your brand ownership or trademark documents. The GeM team verifies the request and, if it is valid, grants OEM rights for that brand in that category (GeM Seller FAQs).

The document that matters is proof you own or control the brand:

• A registered trademark in the relevant class is the safest document. Practitioner guidance on the OEM dashboard asks for a trademark whose status is "Registered", in a class that matches the category, with brand and organisation names matching GeM records (Edafter: Brand approval).
• If you do not own the trademark yourself, GeM provides a Deemed OEM route: upload GeM's pre-defined Deemed OEM Authorization Letter on the brand owner's letterhead, duly signed (GeM Seller FAQs).
• Keep the brand name identical everywhere. GeM says a brand may be rejected or put on hold if the brand name is not consistent with the trademark, authorisation letter or website (GeM Seller FAQs).

Vendor assessment. In select categories, OEMs must also clear a vendor assessment unless they fall in an exempted category. RITES conducts it, and GeM states the report is completed within 15 working days of the request. Eligible OEMs can apply for an exemption from their profile, which QCI validates in 2 working days (GeM Seller FAQs).

Step 3: How do I upload a product catalogue on GeM, step by step?

1. Confirm who may list in your category. GeM groups categories into CMS Q1–Q4. In Q1 only verified OEMs sell; in Q2 verified OEMs and resellers they authorise sell, and only OEMs create catalogues; in Q3 OEMs create catalogues and resellers pair (or resellers create and the OEM approves); in Q4 any seller can list (GeM Seller FAQs). Q2 includes categories such as desktop computers, laptops, multifunction machines, printers, scanners and OEM cartridges.
2. Pick the exact category. A product listed in the wrong category is rejected and has to be offered again in the correct one (GeM Seller FAQs).
3. Fill every technical parameter from your datasheet. Use the exact values and units your published specification shows. Do not stretch a value to fit a dropdown option that is "close enough".
4. Use a model number buyers can verify. An unverifiable model number is a listed rejection reason. Make sure the model appears on your website or published datasheet (GeM Seller FAQs).
5. Upload compliant images. Actual product photos on a clean white background, with no watermark or logos, in JPG or PNG up to 300 KB (GeM Seller FAQs).
6. Set a defensible price. "Invalid price range" is another listed rejection reason. Price in line with the market and your other channels.
7. Review before you submit. After a product is published, only stock and price can be edited (GeM Seller FAQs). A wrong parameter means a new listing, not a quick fix.

From our desk

Case: four rejections in two months, then live in 48 hours. A Lucknow-based commercial furniture manufacturer spent two months in a rejection loop trying to list its products. GeM rejected the catalogue four times. The lab test reports did not line up with the portal's rigid parameter structure, and the firm had uploaded a pending TM application receipt instead of a Deemed OEM authorisation. Our catalogue team secured the correct authorisation letter from the brand owner and re-mapped every technical parameter to match GeM's specification fields exactly. The catalogue was live within 48 hours.

The trademark receipt trap. The most common way manufacturers get stuck is at brand approval: they upload a TM application receipt instead of a registered trademark certificate or a valid authorisation. The application proves you asked for a trademark, not that you own one, and the request goes into a rejection loop that can last until the mark is registered. We check trademark status and class on the IP India record before anything is uploaded.

Force-fitting Q2 parameters. In Q2 categories, the technical parameter structure is strict. Manufacturers often pick the nearest option when their spec does not exactly match a field, or enter values in a different unit. GeM names this directly — "force fitting the technical parameters" — as a rejection reason. We map every parameter against the datasheet line by line before submission.

What our onboarding data shows

• 68% of the 215 UP manufacturers we audited in Q3 2026 faced an initial catalogue rejection, driven by technical parameters and brand approval documents. A first rejection is the norm, not the exception, for a manufacturer listing without help.
• Pre-audited catalogues averaged 48 hours to approval, half of GeM's published 96-hour turnaround. The time is not saved by speeding GeM up. It is saved by removing the reasons for rejection before GeM sees the catalogue.

Common reasons OEM catalogues get rejected

Reason	What happens	Fix
TM application receipt uploaded instead of a registered trademark or authorisation	Brand approval rejected or put on hold	Upload the registration certificate, or use the Deemed OEM authorisation letter
Trademark class does not match the category	Brand request fails verification	Check the class on the IP India record before applying
Brand name differs between GeM, trademark and website	Brand rejected or put on hold	Use one identical brand name everywhere
Force-fitting technical parameters	Product rejected	Enter exact datasheet values and units; never pick "nearest"
Model number not verifiable on OEM website	Product rejected	Publish the model and datasheet on your website first
Product listed in the wrong category	Rejected; must be offered again	Confirm the category before filling parameters
Images with watermark, logo or non-white background	Product rejected	Clean white background, no marks, JPG/PNG up to 300 KB
Invalid price range	Product rejected	Price in line with market and your other channels

Sources

• GeM Seller FAQs — registration, OEM Panel, vendor assessment, CMS Q1–Q4, rejection reasons, 96-hour TAT, image rules
• Edafter — GeM brand approval documentation (practitioner guide)
• Sample GeM bid document — MSE benefits for manufacturers