The CA Institute has now made it clear that chartered accountants in practice/firms of chartered accountants can register themselves on GeM (Government e-marketplace) portal. However, the information published on the portal should be in compliance with the provisions of the ‘code of ethics’ already in place for chartered accountants, the CA Institute has said.
This clarification is expected to come in handy for chartered accountants in practice/CA firms as registration on the portal is a pre-requirement for providing professional services to government departments/organisations, sources said.
The CA Institute has been receiving queries as to whether chartered accountants in practice/firms of chartered accountants can register themselves on the GeM portal or not. It can recalled that the Central government has mandated the procurement of goods and services by government departments/organisations through GeM portal.
A one-stop portal
GeM portal, which was launched on August 9, 2016, by the Commerce Minister, is a one-stop portal to facilitate online procurement of common use goods and services required by various government departments/organisation/PSUs.
It aims to enhance transparency, efficiency and speed in public procurement. It provides the tool of e-bidding, reverse e-auction and demand aggregation to facilitate government users to achieve the best value for their money.
GeM is a completely paperless, cashless and system-driven e-marketplace that enables procurement of commonuse goods and services with minimal human interface.