MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY

(Department of Industrial Development)

NOTIFICATION

New Delhi the 24th February 1981

G.S.R. 77 (E). – Whereas a draft of the revised gas Cylinders Rules was published as required by Section 18 of the Indian Explosives Act 1884 (4 of 1884) at pages 1131 to 1138/12 of the Gazette of India, Extraordinary Part II Section 3 sub-section (I) dated the 1st September 1979 under the notification of the Government of India in the Ministry of Industry (Department of Industrial Development) No. G.S.R. 523 (E) dated the 1st September 1979 inviting objections and suggestions from all persons likely to be affected thereby before the expiry of a period of 45 days from the date of publication of the said notification in the Official Gazette; 

And whereas the said Gazette was made available to the public on the 22nd September 1979; 

And whereas objections and suggestions received from the public on the said draft Rules have been considered by the Central Government;                    

Now therefore in exercise of the powers conferred by Section 5 & 7 of the Indian Explosives Act 1884 (4 of 1884) the Central Government hereby makes the following rules namely: -

CHAPTER I

PRELIMINARY 

1. Short title and commencement.

(1)  These rules may be called the Gas Cylinders Rules 1981.

(2) They shall come into force on the date of their publication in the Official Gazette.       

2. Definitions. –

In these rules unless the context otherwise requires, - 

1.   “Act” means the Indian Explosives Act 1884 (4 of 1884)
   

2.  “Chief Controller” means the Chief Controller of Explosives Government of India ;
   

3.  “Competent person” means a person recognized by the Chief Controller to be a competent person or a person who holds a certificate of competency for the jobs in respect of which competency is required from an institution recognized by the Chief Controller in this behalf;
   

4.  “compressed gas” means any permanent gas liquifiable gas dissolved in liquid under pressure or gas mixture which in a closed gas cylinder exercise a pressure either exceeding 2.5 Kgf / Cm2 abs. (1.5 Kgf/Cm2 gauge) at + 15DC or a pressure exceeding 3 Kgf/Cm2 abs (2 Kgf/Cm2 gauge) at + 50DC or both;
   

5.  “Conservator” in relation to a port includes any person acting under the authority of the officer or body of persons appointed to be Conservator of that port under Section 7 of the Indian Ports Act of 1908 (15 of 1908);
   

6.  “Controller of Explosives” includes the Deputy Chief Controller of Explosives Deputy Controller and Assistant controller of Explosives;
   

7. “Critical temperature” means the temperature above which gas cannot be liquefied by the application of pressure alone;
   

8.   “dissolved acetylene cylinder” means a cylinder having a value and with or without safety devices containing a porous mass a solvent for the storage of dissolved acetylene and at least sufficient acetylene to saturate the solvent at atmospheric pressure and at a temperature of + 15DC.
   

9. “dissolved gas” means a gas which under pressure is dissolved in a fluid solvent appropriate to the particular gas as for example acetylene in acetone or ammonia in water;
   

10. “district authority” means –

1. a Commissioner of Police or Deputy Commissioner of Police in any town having a Commissioner of Police ; and
   

2.  in any other place the District Magistrate;

11. “District Magistrate” includes an Additional District Magistrate and in the State of Punjab and Haryana and in the Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam areas of the Union territory of Pondicherry also includes a Sub-Divisional Magistrate;
    

12.  “filling pressure” means the maximum permissible gauge pressure converted to 15DC at which a gas Cylinder for permanent gas or gas dissolved under pressure can be filled;
    

13.  “filling ratio” means the ratio of the weight of a liquefiable gas introduced in the cylinder to the weight of the water the cylinders will hold at 15°C;
    

14.  “flammable gas” means any gas which if either a mixture of 13 percent or loss (by volume) with air forms a flammable mixture or regardless of the lower limit and these limits shall be determined at atmospherics temperature and pressure.
    

15.  “form” means a Form set forth in Schedule V.
    

16.   “Gas Cylinder” or “cylinder” means any closed metal container intended for the storage and transport of compressed gas designed not to be fitted to a special transport or under-carriage and having a volume exceeding 500ml but not exceeding 1000 litres;
    

17. “high pressure liquefiable gas” means a liquefiable gas having critical temperature between - 10°C and + 70°C.
    

18.   “hydrostatic stretch test” means subjecting the cylinder to a hydrostatic pressure equal to the test pressure of the cylinder and recording the permanent stretch undergone by the cylinder;
    

19.  “hydrostatic test” means the test to which a cylinder is subject to a hydrostatic pressure equal to the test pressure by the cylinder;
    

20.  “import” means bringing into India by land sea or air;
    

21. “inspecting authority” means a person having qualifications and wide experience in the field of design manufacture and testing of gas cylinders and recognised by the Chief controller as authority for inspection and certification of gas cylinders;
    

22.  “installation” means any premises wherein any place has been specially prepared for the manufacture (filling) or storage of compressed gas in cylinder;
    

23. “liquefiable gas” means a gas that may be liquefied by pressure at 10°C but will be completely vaporised when in equilibrium with normal atmospheric pressure (760 mm hg) at 30°C;
    

24.  “low pressure liquefiable gas” means a liquefiable gas having critical temperature higher than +70°C;
    

25. “manufacture of gas” means filling of a cylinder with any compressed gas and also includes transfer of compressed gas from one cylinder to any other cylinder;
    

26. “permanent gas” means a gas whose critical temperature is below - 10°C that is to say a gas which cannot be liquefied under any pressure at a temperature above - 10°C;
    

27.  “schedule” means the Schedule annexed to these rules;
    

28. “tare weight” in relation to 

1. acetylene cylinder means the weight of the cylinder together with any fitting permanently attached and includes the weight of valve and safety device porous mass requisite quantity of solvent for dissolving acetylene and the weight of acetylene gas saturating the solvent at atmospheric pressure and temperature of 15°C.
   

2. liquefiable gas cylinder means the weight of the cylinder together with any fittings permanently attached thereto and includes the weight of valve
   

3. Permanent gas cylinder means the weight of the cylinder together with any fittings permanently attached thereto.

29. “test pressure” means the internal pressure for the hydrostatic test or hydrostatic stretch test of the cylinder as follows:-

(1)         for permanent and high pressure liquefiable gases it should be calculated from the following: 

                      Ph = 200.t Re / 1.25 (Do-t)

Where

Ph = Test pressure in Kgf/Cm2.

Do = Outside diameter of the cylinder in mm.

 T  = Minimum calculated wall thickness of the cylinder shell in mm.

Re = Minimum specified yield strenght of the material of cylinder in Kgf/mm2. It is limited to 75 percent of minimum value of tensile strenght and 85 percent of the minimum value of the tensile strength for quenched and tempered cylinder provided that the value of test pressure shall not exceed 80 percent of the yield strength.

(2)           For low-pressure liquefiable gas-one and half times the saturated vapour pressure of the gas at 65° C or as specified in IS 8867 whichever is higher.

30. “transport” means the moving of a cylinder filled with any compressed gas from one place to another;
    

31. “water capacity,” means the volume of water in litres a cylinder will hold at 15°C.
    

32. “working pressure for law pressure liquefiable gas,” means the saturated vapour pressure at 65°C.
    

33. “working pressure for permanent gas” means the internal pressure of the gas in the cylinder at a temperature of 15°C;
    

34. “yield strength,” means the stress corresponding to a permanent strain of 0.2 percent of the original gauge length in a tensile test. For practical purpose it may be taken as a stress at which elongation first occurs in the test piece without the increase of load in a tensile test.