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MINISTRY
OF PETROLEUM AND NATURAL GAS
ORDER
New Delhi the 5th June 2000
G.S.R.
519 (E). – In exercise of the Essential Commodities Act
1955 (10 of 1955) the Central Government hereby makes the
following order namely: -
- Short
title extent and commencement –
(1)This
Order may be called the Solvent Raffinate and Slop
(Acquisition, sale, Storage and Prevention of use in
Automobiles) Order 2000.
(2)
It extends to the whole of India.
(3)
It shall come into force on the date of its publication in
the Official Gazette.
- Definitions – In this
Order unless the context otherwise requires: -
(a)
“automobile” means any vehicle registered with
the Road Transport Authority by any person where fuel
certified for use in such automobile is motor spirit high
speed diesel liquefied petroleum gas or compressed natural
gas;
(b)
“Government Oil Company” means an oil refining
company or oil marketing company which is a Government
company as defined in section 617 of the Companies Act
1956 (1 of 1956);
(c)
“high speed diesel” means any hydrocarbon oil
(excluding mineral colza oil and turpentine substitute)
which meets the requirements of Bureau of Indian Standards
specification No IS-1460 and is suitable for
use as fuel in compression ignition engines;
(d)
“motor spirit” means any hydrocarbon oil
(excluding crude mineral oil), which meets the
requirements of Bureau of Indian Standards specification
No. IS-2796 and is suitable for use as fuel in
spark ignition engines;
(e)
“oil company” means any person firm or company
engaged in sale of motor spirit and or the high speed
diesel to consumers and or the dealers and authorized to
do so by the Central Government;
(f)
“other product” means a product other than
solvent raffinate or slop as defined hereunder and or
their equivalent having the power or ability to dissolve
in motor spirit and or the high speed diesel;
(g)“raffinate”
means a lean solvent stream in liquid extraction process
where solvent is used to separate two components in
hydrocarbon mixture;
(h)
“slop” means unfinished product stream
generated in any industry during unstabilised period of
plant operation;
(i)
“solvent” means volatile fractions derived
either directly or indirectly from petroleum or coal.
These solvents can be single hydrocarbon components like
propane, benzene, toluene, xylene etc or narrow or wide
boiling ranges of hydrocarbon.
- Restriction on sale
and use of solvents, raffinates, slops and other
product: -
(1)
No person shall either acquire store or sell
solvents, raffinates, slops or their equivalent and other
product without a licence issued by the State Government
or the District Magistrate or any other Officer authorized
by the Central or the State Government.
(2)No
person shall either use or help in any manner the use of
solvents, raffinates, slops or their equivalent or other
product except motor spirit and high speed diesel in any
automobile.
Provided
that nothing in this Order shall preclude the use of such
products for research purposes on automobiles.
(3)
Any person whosever is engaged in the sale or
trading of solvents, raffinates slops or their equivalent
and other product either imported or indigenous for any
purpose whatsoever shall file end-use certificates from
consumers to whom he sells and furnish customer-wise sales
to the District Magistrate or to the State Civil Supplies
Authorities on a quarterly basis.
(4)
Any person whosoever is engaged in use of solvents
raffinates slops or their equivalent and other product
either imported or indigenous for manufacture of any
petrochemicals or any other purpose shall file end-use
certificates to the District Magistrate or the State Civil
Supplies Authorities on a quarterly basis.
- Power of search and
seizure: -
(1)
Any gazette officer of the Central or the State
Government or any police officer not below the rank of
Deputy Superintendent of Police duly authorized by general
of special order by the Central or the State Government or
any officer of a Government oil company or any other oil
company authorized by the Central Government not below the
rank of Sales Officer may with a view to securing
compliance with the provisions of this Order or for the
purpose of satisfying himself that this Order or any order
made there under has been complied with –
(a)
enter and search any place or premises being used or
suspected to be used in the business of the dealer,
transporter, consumer or any other person who is an
employee or agent of such dealer, transporter, consumer
with respect to which there is reason to believe that the
provisions of this Order have been or are being or are
about to be contravened;
(b)
stop and search any person or vehicle or receptacle
used or intended to be used for the movement of the
product or using or receiving the product in contravention
of this Order;
(c)
inspect any book of accounts or other documents or
any stock of the product used or suspected to be used in
the business of the dealer, transporter, consumer or any
other person suspected to be an employee or agent of the
dealer, transporter or consumer;
(d)
take samples of the product and seize any of the stocks of
the product which the officer has reason to believe has
been or is being or is about to be used in contravention
of this Order and thereafter take or authorize the taking
of all measures necessary for jurisdiction under the
provisions of the Essential Commodities Act 1955 and for
their safe custody pending such production
(2)
While exercising the power of seizure provided
under sub-clause (d) of clause (1) the authorized officer
shall record in writing the reasons for doing so a copy of
which shall be given to the dealer, transporter, consumer
or any other concerned person.
(3)
The provisions of section 100 of the Code of
Criminal Procedure 1973 (2 of 1974) relating to search and
seizure shall as far as may be apply to searches and
seizures under this Order.
- Sampling of Product: -
(1)
The officer authorized in clause 4 shall draw the
sample from the tank, nozzle, vehicle or receptacle as the
case may be to check whether the provisions of this Order
are being or likely to be contravened.
(2)
The officer authorised in clause 4 shall take sign
and seal three samples of 750 ml to 1 litre each of the
product one to be given to the concerned person under
acknowledgement with instructions to preserve the sample
in his safe custody till the testing and investigations
are complete the second sample shall to be kept by the
concerned oil company or Department and the third to be
used for laboratory analysis
(3)
The samples shall be taken in clean glass or
aluminium containers and no plastic containers shall be
used for drawing samples.
(4)
The samples label should be jointly signed by the
officer who has drawn the sample and the concerned person
or his representative and the lable shall contain
information as regards the product place of seizure
quantity of sample date name and signature of the
concerned person or his representative.
(5)
The authorized officer shall send the third sample
of the product taken under sub-clause (2) within a period
of ten days to any of the laboratories specified in
Schedule III of the Motor Spirit and High Speed Diesel
(Regulation of Supply and Distribution and Prevention of
Malpractices) Order 1998 for the purpose of analysis of
sample to check the product.
- Power of Central and
the State Government to issue directions: -
The
Central Government of a State Government with the approval
of the Central Government may from time to time by a
general or special order issue to any person such
directions as it considers necessary storage sale
transportation and disposal and use of product and upon
the issue of such directions such person shall be bound to
comply therewith.
- Provision of the Order
to prevail over previous orders of State Government:
The
provisions of this Order shall have effect notwithstanding
anything to the contrary contained in any order made by
State Government or by an officer of such State Government
before the commencement of this Order except as respects
anything done or omitted to be done thereunder before such
commencement.
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