EMD Refund Delayed After a Tender

Reviewed on: 2026-06-12.

Your Earnest Money Deposit should be returned once you are no longer in the running. For unsuccessful bidders that means soon after the tender is decided; for the winner, after the performance security is furnished. If it is stuck, send a dated refund demand to the procuring entity quoting the GFR timeline, and if it is a government body, use RTI to get the release status. EMD is your money held as security, not the department's to keep.

Earnest Money Deposit (EMD), also called bid security, is the amount a bidder furnishes so it does not back out after bidding. It is refundable. The General Financial Rules, 2017 (GFR) and the standard tender conditions require the procuring entity to release EMD of unsuccessful bidders promptly once the contract is awarded, and the successful bidder's EMD after it submits the performance security. Many tenders state a window such as within 30 days of award or of the bid validity expiring. The exact line is in your tender document, so quote it.

• GFR 2017 governs central government procurement and is widely mirrored by states and PSUs. It treats EMD as bid security to be returned once the security purpose ends.
• Under the government's procurement reforms, many tenders no longer demand EMD at all, especially below threshold values, relying instead on a bid security declaration. If your tender did take EMD, it is refundable on the terms above.
• MSEs (registered Micro and Small Enterprises) are exempt from EMD under the Public Procurement Policy for MSEs, so if you paid EMD despite being an exempt MSE, raise that too.
• Some tender conditions provide interest on EMD held beyond the stated period, or you can claim interest for unreasonable delay. Check your tender clause.

EMD is held by the procuring entity, the department, PSU or autonomous body that floated the tender, not by the e-procurement portal. The portal only records the payment. So your refund demand and any RTI go to the procuring entity's accounts or tender section, identified from the tender notice.

1. Confirm you are due a refund. Unsuccessful bidder after award, or successful bidder who has lodged performance security. Note the award date and bid validity date.
2. Check the mode. EMD paid online is usually refunded to the same account; a bank guarantee or demand draft is returned or released differently. Online refunds sometimes fail on a stale account, so verify your bank details on the portal.
3. Send a dated written demand to the procuring entity quoting the tender ID, your bid details, the EMD amount, the date you became eligible for refund, and the GFR or tender clause on the timeline.
4. Escalate to the head of office or the nodal grievance officer if there is no release.
5. File RTI with the procuring entity (a public authority) for the EMD release status and the file noting.

To,
The Accounts Officer / Tender Inviting Authority,
[Name of department / PSU]

Date: [DD/MM/YYYY]

Subject: Release of Earnest Money Deposit (Bid Security) for Tender ID
[number] - EMD Rs [amount] paid on [date]

Sir/Madam,

I participated in Tender ID [number]. The contract was awarded on [date]
and I am an unsuccessful bidder / I am the successful bidder and have
furnished performance security on [date]. My EMD of Rs [amount] paid vide
[UTR / DD / BG number] remains unrefunded.

As per [tender clause / GFR 2017], the EMD is to be released within
[period]. I request release of Rs [amount] to [account / instrument]
within 15 days, with interest for the delayed period if applicable.

Bid and payment details and proof are enclosed.

Yours faithfully,
[Name, firm, registration ID, mobile, email]

Because the procuring entity is a public authority, RTI is powerful here. Ask the Public Information Officer for: the date the EMD release was sanctioned or the reason it is pending; the file noting on your EMD; the bank advice or cheque or RTGS reference of the refund; and the office order on EMD release for that tender. A simple RTI often makes a forgotten EMD move, because the section now has to record what it did. RTI cannot itself order payment, but the paper trail supports a grievance or a recovery claim.

RTI does not apply to a purely private buyer running a private tender. For those, rely on the contract and the civil route.

• Waiting silently. EMD is often released only when the bidder asks, so send the dated demand.
• Sending the demand to the portal helpdesk instead of the procuring entity's accounts section.
• Not verifying your bank details, so an online refund keeps failing.
• Forgetting the MSE exemption if you are a registered Micro or Small Enterprise.

Soon after the contract is awarded, commonly within the window stated in the tender, such as 30 days of award or of bid validity expiry. Quote your tender clause and GFR 2017 in the demand.

After the successful bidder furnishes the performance security or signs the contract, the EMD is released, as the security purpose has shifted to the performance guarantee.

If the tender provides interest on EMD held beyond the period, claim it. Even otherwise you can seek interest for unreasonable delay, though it is not automatic. Raise it in writing.

Registered Micro and Small Enterprises are generally exempt from EMD under the Public Procurement Policy for MSEs. If you paid it despite the exemption, demand a refund and cite the policy.

Often the bank account on the portal is closed or has changed. Update and verify your bank details with the procuring entity so the refund can be re-attempted.

No. RTI gives you information, such as the release status and file noting. That record usually pushes the section to act, and it strengthens a grievance, but the actual release is ordered by the department.

• E-procurement account locked before bid deadline
• Earnest money refund pending on a flat booking
• ICEGATE AD code registration stuck
• Practical Guides hub
• How to file RTI online
• First and second RTI appeals

Download the EMD refund recovery checklist (PDF).