Error messages on GeM are terse; the fixes usually aren't where you'd guess. This hub collects the problems sellers actually hit — with the diagnosis sequence we use — and grows as new ones surface. Bookmark it; the portal will give you reasons to return. Below is the honest line between what you can fix and what needs an incident ticket.
Before diagnosing anything specific, eliminate the boring causes — they're behind a third of "errors":
Is it you or everyone? Check gem.gov.in for maintenance notices; try another device/network.
Browser hygiene: Current Chrome/Edge, cleared cache & cookies for the site, no aggressive extensions (ad-blockers break portal scripts), one tab only — parallel sessions confuse state.
The right URL for the job: mkp vs sso vs bidplus confusion explains many "broken" experiences.
Time of day: Peak-hour slowness and timeout errors correlate — retry off-peak before panicking.
| Error / Issue | Diagnosis & Fix |
|---|---|
|
PAN verification failed
|
The classic. Cause: the legal name mismatch between PAN records and what you entered (or between PAN and Aadhaar records). Full fix sequence — including the NSDL-record correction path and the re-trigger step — in the dedicated guide: PAN Verification Failed: Fixes → |
|
OTP not received
|
90% cause: the mobile you're expecting it on isn't the one linked to Aadhaar. Verify linkage; update at an Aadhaar centre if needed (days, not hours — plan for it). Remaining 10%: DND filters, network delay (wait the full window before re-requesting — rapid re-requests can lock the attempt), or portal SMS-gateway hiccups (retry later). |
|
"Details do not match"
|
During entity validation — company data validating against MCA records: stale registered addresses, old director data. Fix at MCA first, then retry — see the consistency rule. |
|
Profile stuck / not 100%
|
Usually one unsaved sub-section (office locations and bank validation are frequent culprits) or a pending validation. Walk each profile section for the red marker; if a validation is genuinely hung, that's ticket territory with the section named. |
Navigate specific module glitches with our specialized diagnosis paths:
Access Errors: Forgot user ID/password loops / "user disabled" — all covered with their recovery paths in the Login & Access guide. Quick note on user disabled: causes range from inactivity policies to compliance flags — the fix path differs by cause, so diagnose before ticketing.
Listing & Catalogue Errors: Listing rejected — decode the rejection reason (current rejection-reason surfacing): category mismatch, incomplete golden parameters, image/document non-compliance, or brand-approval gaps. Each has a fix; blind resubmission has none — review catalogue mechanics. Product invisible in search is not an error, but a completeness problem: vague golden parameters make listings unfilterable — see the visibility fix.
Transaction & Payment Errors: Charge/fee payment stuck mid-gateway (milestone or transaction charges) — money debited, portal not updated: note the transaction reference, don't pay again immediately; gateway reconciliation typically resolves within the banking cycle; ticket with the reference if it doesn't. Note: if someone asked you to pay "caution money" — that was abolished in 2025; you may be dealing with fraud, not a gateway error. Bank validation failing: PFMS-linked checks reject name/account mismatches; fix at bank or use correct account name. Invoice/payment stalls post-delivery: usually process issues like CRAC not generated or invoice-CRAC mismatches — see the order-to-payment guide and CRAC playbook.
Bid-Side Errors: Can't see/participate in a bid — category listing missing, profile incomplete, or eligibility gates (why this happens). Upload failures near deadline — file size/format limits plus deadline-hour congestion; the real fix is behavioural: submissions land T-minus-24-hours, never T-minus-30-minutes.
The boundary: data and validation states you can't touch — hung verifications, gateway reconciliations, flags on the account, anything where the fix lives on GeM's side. Raise it properly (one issue, identifiers, exact error text, screenshot, the ask) — the helpline & incident guide covers the technique that gets tickets resolved instead of closed.
And the boundary beyond that: problems that aren't portal problems at all — wrong route chosen (VA when exemption applied), losing bids on ATC misses, category strategy. No ticket fixes those; that's the consulting lane.