Empanelment puts an architect or firm on a client’s approved list for a fixed period, and later projects are bid among that panel. Notices ask for Council of Architecture registration, a PAN and GST number, three years of turnover, similar completed work and a digital signature. Each client sets its own limits, so read the notice before you prepare a single page.
Public bodies run empanelments, and so do banks and development authorities. This guide uses two published notices as worked examples and describes the steps common to most. Rules change, so rely on the notice you are applying to.
What is an EOI for architectural consultancy?
An Expression of Interest (EOI) is an invitation to architects to apply for a panel or a shortlist. It states the scope, the eligibility, the documents, the last date and the way to submit. An EOI does not award work. It decides who may be asked to bid or who will be called when a project arises.
The DDA’s 2022 notice shows the two-step pattern. The authority first empanels conservation architects and firms. Later, “suitable bidders shall be called after calling the bids from the Empanelled Firms/Conservation Architects for specific project.” The panel is the door, and the project is a second contest.
What does an empanelment notice ask for?
Two notices give a clear picture, from a bank and from a development authority:
| Criterion | SBI Patna, Dec 2024 | DDA conservation panel, Oct 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| Registration | Proof of registration with the architects’ body; membership of a recognised professional institute | At least one partner registered with the Council of Architecture |
| Qualification | Graduate or postgraduate diploma in architecture, or more than three years of substantial work as an architect | Principal postgraduate in conservation, heritage management or equivalent; other partners graduate architects |
| Experience | At least 7 years in the field | Conservation consultancy in the 5 years before the last date |
| Similar work | 3 projects at 40 per cent of the category limit, or 2 at 50 per cent, or 1 at 80 per cent, in 7 years | List of completed projects with client certificates; in-progress projects must be at least 85 per cent complete |
| Finance | Average turnover of the last 3 years: Rs 1.35 lakh for the “up to Rs 1 crore” category, Rs 6 lakh for “up to Rs 5 crore” | Audited accounts for 3 years; profit after tax positive in at least 2 of the 3 years |
| Tax | PAN, income tax returns for three assessment years, GST number | PAN and GST number |
| Portal | Registered on GeM | Central Public Procurement Portal, with a Class II or III digital signature |
| Panel period | 3 years, reviewed at least once a year | 5 years, renewable for a further 3 |
The SBI notice has further conditions: no abandoned work or rescinded contract and no blacklisting in the last five years, an office in at least one city of the states covered, and no near relatives in the bank. It lets higher-category panel members bid in lower categories, but not the reverse.
Which documents should a firm keep ready?
Keep a standing file, because notices give about four weeks. The DDA notice ran from 17 October to 14 November 2022, and the SBI notice from 30 December 2024 to 29 January 2025.
A standing file for an architecture firm usually holds:
- The CoA registration certificate of the principal, and the firm’s registration papers.
- PAN, GST registration and income tax returns for the last three years.
- Audited balance sheets and profit and loss statements for three years, with a chartered accountant’s turnover certificate.
- A project list with client name, scope, area, cost, year, and a completion or work-in-progress certificate for each entry.
- Appointment letters or work orders that match the project list.
- Membership certificates of professional bodies.
- A digital signature certificate (Class III where the portal asks for it) and enrolment on the relevant e-procurement portal.
- A technical team list, because the SBI notice asks for staff for drawings, estimates, supervision and checking of bills.
Collect the work order and the completion letter from every client, private or public, as each project closes.
How do you apply, step by step?
Most calls run on e-procurement portals. For central bodies the portal is the Central Public Procurement Portal; states run their own, such as the West Bengal and Assam e-tender sites. Some bodies still take sealed paper envelopes: the SBI notice asks for the application, marked with the trade and category, to be dropped in a tender box.
- Read the notice and list each criterion against your records.
- Enrol on the portal and register the digital signature.
- Prepare the documents in the sizes and formats the portal allows. The DDA instructions advise scanning each file below 2 MB.
- Apply for one category as per eligibility. The SBI notice allows a willingness to work in a lower category, and it asks for separate applications for each trade.
- Upload and freeze the bid before the deadline, and keep the acknowledgement number.
- Wait for scrutiny. Panels are formed after a committee reviews the applications. The SBI notice also asks applicants to authorise it to obtain confidential reports from their past clients.
What is the Government e-Marketplace, and do architects need it?
GeM is a government-owned e-marketplace for public buying, and some notices require registration on it. GeM describes itself as a 100 per cent government-owned Section 8 company under the Department of Commerce. The SBI Patna notice states that “all the applicants should be registered in Government e-Market (GeM) portal.” Register early if you plan to apply to bodies that ask for it.
What is a design plus PMC tender?
A design plus PMC tender bundles the architectural design with project management consultancy in one assignment. The consultant prepares the design and the tender documents, then supervises construction on behalf of the client. The SBI notice reflects the idea: it wants architects “specialized in managing complete work”, with technical staff for drawings, estimates, supervision and checking of bills.
If your firm plans to bid for these, build the site supervision record as carefully as the design record. Read the guide to project management consultants in construction and the note on BOQ and contractor selection.
What does the studio bring to a public client?
The studio is registered with the Council of Architecture and empanelled with the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, the New Town Kolkata Development Authority and the Rajpur Sonarpur Municipality. It works for central and state agencies, among them highways, the Public Works Department and the police, and for mid-sized and large companies.
For tenders and expressions of interest, the studio supplies a capability statement, its registration certificate and its empanelment letters on request. The public and corporate page sets out the work in this field. The studio’s services most often asked for in these assignments are architecture, urban design and site supervision and project management.
How should a public body or a firm take the next step?
Send the notice or the brief to the studio with the deadline and the category. The studio reads it against its records and replies with what it can supply. Use the contact page to begin.
