GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR

e-PROCUREMENT UNDER CENTRAL PUBLIC PROCUREMENT PORTAL

(https://eprocure.gov.in)

7th June 2019

Office memorandums dated 30th March, 2012, 9th Jan,2014 & 21st January 2016 and other
OMs (please refer „Instructions related to CPPP‟ at eprocure.gov.in) issued by the Department
of Expenditure, Ministry of Finance mandates all Ministries / Department of Central
Government their attached and subordinated offices, Central Public Sector Enterprises
(CPSEs) and Autonomous / Statutory Bodies to commence e-Procurement in respect of all
procurements with estimated value of Rs. 2 lakhs or above w.e.f 1.4.2016 by selecting
eProcurement service provider of their own choice.

Also refer Rule 159 and Rule 160 of GFR 2017 regarding publication of tender related
information on CPPP as well as receipt of e-bids.

NIC facilitates Ministries/ Departments/others in complying with above guidelines thru

application modules available under Central Public Procurement viz e-Publishing
(eprocure.gov.in/epublish/app), e-procurement (eprocure.gov.in/eprocure/app) and XML data
transfer.

Ministries/Departments/others which obtain bids in physical format may use ePublishing

module of CPPP for publishing of tender related information.

Ministries/Departments which do not have a large volume of procurement or carry out

procurements required for day to day running of offices and also have not initiated e-
Procurement through any other solution provider may use the e-Procurement solution
developed by NIC, if desired. The same is available under the Central Public Procurement
(CPP) Portal at URL: eprocure.gov.in/eprocure/app. Ministries/Departments with large volume
of procurement other than of the nature mentioned above may either use the e-Procurement
solution developed by NIC or engage any other service provider by following due process.

Ministries/Departments, which are already carrying out e-Procurement through other service
providers or have developed e-Procurement solutions in house, may continue to do so, ensuring
that conditions/guidelines provided in the above OMs of DoE / GFRs are fulfilled. They may
publish tender related information on CPPP using XML data transfer. For further details, pl
refer the XML Help Document at available at
https://eprocure.gov.in/cppp/sites/default/files/eproc/XMLStepbyStepDocument.pdf or mail to
[email protected]

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The table below shows the key differences between e-Publishing module and e-Procurement
module of NIC accessible through the CPP Portal.

e-Publishing module e-Procurement module

1. Entails publishing of all tender enquiries, 1. Covers the complete tendering process
corrigenda thereto and awards of contract starting from online publishing of tender
thereon on the CPP Portal. enquiries, online bid submission by the
bidders, online bid opening, uploading of bid
evaluation results and publication of award
of Contract.
Under e-Publishing, the User Under e-Procurement, the complete
Organisations will continue to invite bids tendering, including the submission of bids
in paper based format. by the bidders, will be online.

2. Under the e-Publishing module, the User 2. Under the e-Procurement module, the User
Organisations are required to define two Organisations will be required to define two
roles for their officials authorised to use additional roles apart from the Tender
this module, viz. Creator and Tender Publisher as in e-
Publishing, viz.
a. Tender Creator/Procurement Officer
Admin - responsible for filling a. The role of Bid Opener is
up and uploading the details of a Critical for e-Procurement. Bid openers
tender enquiry / corrigenda / award of should be identified for each tender at
Contract on the CPP Portal. the time of publishing of the tender
Enquiry.
b. Tender Publisher - responsible for b. Bid Evaluator - authorised to upload the
publishing the tender enquiry /
corrigenda / award of contract created results of the various stages of bid
by the Tender Creator on the CPP Evaluation on the CPP Portal.
Portal. c. Minimum of 4 Bid openers must be
configured against each tender to avoid
any issues in tender opening

d. It is suggested to have minimum 5 Digital

Signature Certificates to start with.

3. All authorised department users, from the 3. All authorised department users, from the
User Organisations, can login using a User Organisations, will be required to have
login ID and password assigned to them, valid Digital Signature Certificates (DSCs),
to operate the e-Publishing module of the in addition to their user ID and password, to
CPP Portal. They do not need any be able to operate the e-Procurement
Additional mode of authentication. Module.

4. e-Publishing does not require the bidders 4. e-Procurement requires the bidders to
to enrol on the CPP Portal, since the enrol on the CPP Portal, using a valid
bids will continue to be submitted in the Digital Signature Certificate (DSC) and
paper based format. Valid email address. The bidders will be
required to submit their bids online on the
e-Procurement module.

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The following document provides the pre-requisites and guidelines for using the e-Procurement
module of NIC under CPPP.

A. Enrolment on e-Procurement module under CPPP

To enrol, each User Organisation (Ministry/ Department, attached or subordinated office)
should follow the steps listed below:

I. Provide GePNIC On-boarding Form

Intending Organisations may provide the GePNIC On-boarding Form available at

Annexure II compiled request for all Regional centres, if any, through their HQ on their
Letterhead, mentioning the Tender Floating Units and approx. Tender Volume to be
published from each Unit.

These details would facilitate NIC in estimating the load on the back-end/ infrastructure
and other support system required to support concerned
Ministries/Departments/Organisations under CPP Portal. NIC may submit a proposal
indicating the timelines and cost considerations to augment (if required) in providing
required eProcurement support to Ministries/Departments/Organisations under CPPP.

II. Acquire Digital Signature Certificates(DSCs)

To carry out e-Procurement using NIC‟s e-Procurement Module, the authorised users of
the User Organisation will be required to obtain valid DSCs. Authorised users will be
required to procure DSC (both Signing and Encryption) of Class-III DSCs. The list of
empanelled DSC vendors is available under Information About DSC link at point no.8.
It is recommended to acquire minimum 4 DSCs along with encryption certificate by
each TIA locations.

III. Selection/ Nomination of Nodal Officer

Each User Organisation (Ministry/ Department, attached or subordinated office) is
required to nominate one official as nodal officer in eProcurement module who would
manage user accounts of concerned user organisation in the eProcurement module. For
details, please refer Annexure-1. User Organisations should submit filled-in Nodal
Officer Account Creation form to NIC / [email protected]. On creation of nodal officer
account in eProcurement module under CPPP, Nodal officer should (a) Set Password &
(b) Mapping of DSC with the account.

IV. Setting up of Organizational Hierarchy for mapping on the CPP Portal

Every User Organisation has to ensure that their organisational structure/hierarchy (of
tender floating locations only) is properly mapped in e-Procurement Module. The sample
format given under Annexure 1 may kindly be modified according to user organisation
hierarchy and may mail to NIC/ [email protected] for its creation.

V. Creation of User Accounts for officials of the User Organisation

The Nodal Officer/ sub-Nodal Officer(s) of each User Organisation will authorise users
within the organisation for various roles such as Tender Creator, Tender Publisher, Bid
Opener and Bid Evaluator who would use the e-Procurement module. For further
details, please refer Annexure 1.

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 VI. Mapping of DSCs for all user accounts created in the User Organisation
The authorised users will be required to Set Password as well as map their DSCs with
their respective user profiles created by the Nodal Officer on the e-Procurement module.

VII. Assistance in floating of First /Pilot Tender in selected locations

User Organisation has to modify its tender document for e-Procurement (e-compliance)
prior to publishing on the eProcurement module under CPPP. Notice Inviting Tender in
.pdf format is mandatory. Also, e-Compliant Tender Document is required.

User Organisation, if required, may request NIC / [email protected] well in advance, for
any assistance in floating of its first/ pilot Tender. Based on the availability of manpower
with NIC prevalent at that time, may provide required support at selected locations.
Deputed manpower would guide user organisation on e-Tendering aspects only. Logistics
support, if any, may be provided by concerned user organisation.

If required, for onsite continuous hand holding support / training services in user
organisation, Facility Management Partner (FMP) manpower may be hired thru NICSI
empanelled vendors in consultation with NIC.

VIII. Training / Assistance in implementing eProcurement Solution of NIC

Users Organisations may attend training on eProcurement under CPPP at:

1. The training session of “Training Program on Public Procurement” held at National
Institute of Financial Management (NIFM), Faridabad
2. Web learning sessions (daily) on eProcurement.
Details and schedule for above mentioned trainings is available on
https://eprocure.gov.in/cppp/trainingdisp

Further, User Organisation may also avail help at:

 For any Technical Query/Clarification, send E-Mail to : [email protected]
 For any Policy/Functionality/Feature related query/clarification, send E-Mail to :
[email protected]
 For Telephonic Help Support, call 24 x 7 Help Desk Number +91 0120-
4200462, +91 0120-4001002, +91 0120-4001005.

***

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 Annexure 1

DETAILED INFORMATION ON PRE-REQUISITES FOR ENROLMENT ON

THE E-PROCUREMENT MODULE OF NIC

I. Selection / Nomination of Nodal Officer

Nodal Officer(s) can be nominated by filling up the Nodal Officer Nomination Form
available under Downloads section of Central Public Procurement Portal and sending it to
NIC / [email protected]

o Login ID should be e-Mail format and should be name based.

o Alternate/Correspondence e-mail ID can be any working email-id as system
sends all communications on this email-id.
o Mobile number should be proper.
NIC will create the Nodal Officer account with the details provided in the form. On receipt of
mail indicating creation of the user account, Nodal officer may generate the password for
by Clicking on „Generate / Forgot Password‟ link on
http://eprocure.gov.in/eprocure/app. Nodal officer may then map DSC with the account.

II. Setting up of Organizational Hierarchy for mapping on CPP Portal

Each User Organisation must provide its organisational structure / hierarchy (of tender
floating locations only) for mapping under e-Procurement Module of NIC as per guidelines
as mentioned below:
The organisational structure of a User Organisation may be provided (up to max 4 levels)
in the following manner:

− LEVEL 0 - Parent Ministry

− LEVEL 1 - Organization (Department/CPSE / Autonomous/Statutory Body)

− LEVEL 2 - Functional/ Zonal/ Regional Offices etc.

− LEVEL 3 - Division/ District level offices etc.

− LEVEL 4 - Sub-Division/Block level offices etc.

The organisation structure as per sample format depicted below may be modified
according to user hierarchy and may be sent to NIC/ [email protected].

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A sample organizational structure is given below:

ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE REQUIREMENT OF TENDER FLOATING

LOCATIONS IN 5 Level
Sl LEVEL 0 LEVEL 1 LEVEL 2 LEVEL 3 LEVEL 4
.NO (Ministry) (Organisation (Department) (Division) (Sub division)
name)
1 Administration
2 Commercial Department
3 Marketing Department
4 Corporate Fiber Development &
Head Quarters Procurement
5 Human Resource &
Employee Services
Department
6 Administration
7 Contract Cell
8 Commercial Department
9 Nagaon Paper Fiber Development &
Mill, Jagiroad Procurement
10 Human Resource &
Employee Services
Department
11 Hindustan Administration
12 Paper Contract Cell
Ministry
13 Corporation Commercial Department
of Heavy Cachar Paper
Limited, (A
14 Industries Mill, Fiber Development &
Govt. of
& Public Panchgram Procurement
India
15 Enterprise Human Resource &
Enterprises)
s Employee Services
Public Sector
Undertaking Department
16 Administration
17 Commercial Department
18 Contract Cell
Hindustan
19 Fiber Development &
Newsprint
Procurement
Limited
20 Human Resource &
Employee Services
Department
21 Administration
22 Contract Cell
23 Nagaland Pulp Commercial Department
24 & Paper Fiber Development &
Company Procurement
25 Limited Human Resource &
Employee Services
Department

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III. Creation of User Accounts for officials of the User Organisation
The Nodal Officer / sub-Nodal Officer(s) of each User Organisation will authorise users
within the organisation to use the e-Procurement module of NIC. The various roles
defined for e-Procurement module are:

i. Procurement Officer Admin (Tender Creator) - responsible for filling up and

uploading the details of a tender enquiry / corrigenda.

ii. Procurement Officer Publisher - responsible for publishing the tender enquiry /
corrigenda created by the Tender Creator.

iii. Procurement Officer Opener - authorised to decrypt and download the bids
received from the bidders in response to a tender document.

iv. Procurement Officer Evaluator - authorised to upload the results of the various
stages of bid evaluation/award of contract.

If required, Nodal officer can also have above mentioned roles to participate in the
Tendering Activities. For getting above roles, Nodal officer may mail to NIC/ cppp-
[email protected].

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 Annexure II
Intent Letter for using NIC eProcurement Software under Central Public Procurement Portal
(On Boarding Letter should be sent by Head Quarter /Central office of the Procuring entity and not by each
Individual Office Organisation’s Letterhead)

Addressed To: Director General

National Informatics Centre
A-Block, CGO Complex, Lodhi Road
New Delhi - 110 003 India

Subject: Intent to use NIC eProcurement Software of CPP Portal

Dear Sir/Ma’am,

1. Give brief description / Background information about Indenting Procuring Entity.

2. Details of the Highest Competent Authority (who is addressing the Letter):

 Name:

 Designation:

 E-Mail ID:

 Contact Number:

3. Presently using any eProcurement System by the Organisation :  YES  NO

If Yes, Name of the URL being used ……………………………………………………………………

Is Tender Information being pushed to CPP portal using XML:  YES  NO

(Procuring Entity Name) _______ __intends to use NIC eProcurement Software under
Central Public Procurement Portal on As Is basis. The details are provided below:

Name of Organisation *

Type Of Organisation* [Tick the appropriate 4. Ministry/ Department/ Attached Office /Sub-
option] ordinate Office/ CPSE/ Autonomous/
Statutory Body / Other Organisation

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 No of tenders to be floated in a year*

No. of tender floating locations*

*[please provide locations wise number of tenders to
be floated as an annexure]

Expected Maximum Number of Bids to be

received in any Tender

Whether Procuring Entity will publish Global  YES  NO

Tenders*

Whether Procuring Entity will publish World  YES  NO

Bank/ADB Funded Tenders *

Whether Procuring Entity will publish Tender  YES  NO

cum Auction*

Any special Requirements, if any

* Indicates columns to be filled up mandatorily

Below are the Default Properties on CPP Portal, if there is any change required in the same, Concerned
Procuring Entity may mention it with a valid reason.

 Visibility of Bid Documents enabled to participating Bidders after Technical Opening of the tender.
 One day gap between Bid submission End Date & Time and Bid Opening Date & Time.

Thanking you
Place:

(Signature and Seal)

Date:

Note: This form may be sent by those Organisations only which are not using any other eProcurement
software. Organizations using some eProcurement software may transfer data to CPP portal thru XML.

Hard Copy of the Letter may be sent by Post and soft copy may be mailed to [email protected]

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