MSE L1 match checker
Quoted higher than a non-MSE L1? Check whether your quote sits inside the L1 + 15% band, what you'd have to match, and how much of the order the preference can give you.
- Band ceiling (L1 + 15%)
- ₹115
- Match price
- ₹100
- Cut to match
- ₹4
- Your share
- Share value at L1
Based on: Public Procurement Policy for MSEs Order, 2012; DC-MSME FAQs (25 Mar 2022). The tender document always decides.
How the MSE purchase preference works
Under the Public Procurement Policy for Micro and Small Enterprises (MSEs) Order, 2012, when the lowest bidder (L1) is not an MSE, any registered MSE that quoted within L1 plus 15% gets the option to bring its price down to L1 and supply up to 25% of the tendered value. The rest of the order stays with L1. When several MSEs sit inside the band, they share that 25% in proportion.
Take a tender for 1,000 units. A large firm quotes ₹100 and an MSE quotes ₹104. The MSE is inside the band, which runs up to ₹115, so it can be offered 250 units at ₹100. A second large firm at ₹102 gets nothing, because the preference goes to MSEs and not to whoever came second.
The catch: you supply at L1's price
The match is at L1's price, not yours. Before accepting, check that L1's price still covers your costs, the EMD and ePBG you'll lock up, and the buyer's payment cycle. If you decline, the full order stays with L1.
Who is outside the preference
Works contracts sit outside the MSE policy altogether. Traders, distributors and sole agents are outside it too, so a trading firm can hold a valid Udyam certificate and still have no claim. On GeM you confirm at bid submission that you're the manufacturer of the primary product category or the service provider of the primary service category.
Items that can't be split
If the item can't be split (one transformer, one custom-built machine), the buyer may give the whole order to the MSE that matches L1. Whether the preference is enabled, and how, is set out in the bid.
Common questions
What is the MSE purchase preference in government tenders?
Under the Public Procurement Policy for MSEs Order, 2012, when the lowest bidder (L1) is not a micro or small enterprise, a registered MSE that quoted within L1 plus 15% can be offered the chance to match L1’s price and supply up to 25% of the tendered value. The rest stays with L1.
Does the MSE get its own quoted price if it matches?
No. The MSE supplies at L1’s price. If it declines to match, the full order stays with L1.
What if more than one MSE is within 15% of L1?
They share the 25% in proportion. For a non-splitable item, such as a single transformer, the buyer may award the whole order to the MSE that matches L1.
Who cannot use the MSE purchase preference?
Works contracts sit outside the MSE policy. Traders, distributors and sole agents are excluded too, even with a valid Udyam registration. On GeM you confirm that you are the manufacturer of the primary product category or the service provider of the primary service category.
See the tender while there's time to do this maths.
A 9 AM digest of matching GeM tenders on Telegram and WhatsApp. Starter is ₹300 a month, first month ₹30.