Since TPA took over GeM's Vendor Assessment, two previously separate search worlds collided: businesses googling "TPA vendor" now land in a mix of TPA' own supplier portal, TPA' third-party inspection services, and GeM assessment content — and pick the wrong process often enough that we wrote this page. Sixty seconds of disambiguation that saves weeks.
| Metric | TPA vendor registration | GeM Vendor Assessment (by TPA) |
|---|---|---|
|
What it is
|
Empanelment as a supplier to TPA Ltd — the transport-infrastructure consultancy PSU | Capability verification of GeM sellers, conducted by TPA as GeM's assessment agency |
|
Your customer afterwards
|
TPA (and its projects) | Every government buyer on GeM |
|
Where it happens
|
TPA' own vendor/procurement portal | Your GeM seller dashboard (application + fee) |
|
Who needs it
|
Businesses supplying rail/infra projects TPA runs | OEMs/deemed OEMs in GeM's designated (Q1/Q2) categories |
|
Cost
|
Per TPA' empanelment terms | Turnover-tiered: ~₹872–₹3,486 + GST (OEMs) |
|
Output
|
Presence in TPA' approved-vendor ecosystem | Assessment status on your GeM profile, valid for 3 years |
Bonus third thing sharing the name: TPA inspection services — TPA as a third-party inspection agency for materials/exports ("TPA inspection vendor" searches). Also not GeM VA — that's hiring TPA to inspect goods, a commercial service of theirs.
Who told you? A GeM category blocked your listing / the seller dashboard prompted assessment → GeM VA. A TPA tender document demanded empanelment → TPA vendor registration.
Where do you want to sell? "To government departments generally, online" → GeM. "To TPA' projects specifically" → their empanelment.
What did the fee quote say? A turnover-tiered fee (₹872–₹3,486+GST range) initiated from a GeM dashboard → VA. Anything else, on another portal → the other processes.
Still ambiguous? The vendor assessment eligibility checker resolves the GeM side; if your answer is "neither, actually," you may not need any assessment at all — resellers and service providers don't.
If you need the GeM one (most readers): Everything lives here — application, documents, the video assessment, and the QCI→TPA changes that made half the internet's guides obsolete. Preparation support is available through our dedicated VA service.
If you need the TPA-supplier one: Outside our lane, honestly — we're GeM-side consultants. Pointers for the road: TPA' own procurement/vendor sections carry the empanelment process, and their tenders also appear on government procurement platforms. (And note: supplying TPA and selling on GeM aren't exclusive — infrastructure suppliers often end up doing both, in which case, welcome back to paragraph one.)