Purchase Requisition

Definition

A purchase requisition is a formal internal document or digital request initiated by a department, team, or individual employee to communicate a purchasing need to the procurement or finance team. Unlike a purchase order (which is an external document sent to a vendor) the requisition is an internal authorisation request that triggers the procurement process. It captures the details of what is needed, the estimated cost, the preferred vendor (if any), the budget to be charged, and the justification for the purchase.

In Indian businesses, purchase requisitions serve as the first checkpoint in procurement governance. When properly implemented, they ensure that every purchase is authorised before a commitment is made to a vendor, that the spend fits within approved budgets, and that the procurement team can aggregate similar requirements across departments for better pricing. For companies subject to statutory audit under the Companies Act, 2013, a documented requisition-to-PO trail demonstrates the internal controls that auditors expect to see.

Digital purchase requisitions have largely replaced paper-based forms in progressive Indian organisations. Modern systems allow requisitioners to select items from approved catalogues (with pre-mapped HSN/SAC codes and standard descriptions), route the requisition through configurable approval workflows based on value and category, and automatically check budget availability before human approval. This reduces cycle time from days to hours while strengthening controls.

Key Points

• A purchase requisition is an internal authorisation document, not a commitment to a vendor like a purchase order
• Requisitions capture the what, why, how much, and from which budget for every proposed purchase
• Proper requisition workflows prevent unauthorised spending and ensure budget compliance
• Digital requisitions with approved catalogues reduce errors by pre-populating HSN/SAC codes and standard descriptions
• Budget checks should be automated at the requisition stage to catch overruns before commitments are made
• Requisition-to-PO audit trails are expected by statutory auditors under the Companies Act, 2013
• Multi-level approval routing based on value, category, and department ensures appropriate oversight without creating bottlenecks