3. Filling, possession, import and transport of cylinder.
(1)No person shall fill any cylinder with any compressed gas or import, possess or transport any cylinder so filled or intended to be filled with such gas unless-(a)such cylinder and its valve have been constructed to a type and standard specified in Schedule I as amended from time to time by an order issued by Chief Controller;(b)the test and inspection certificates issued by the inspecting authority in respect of cylinder and its valve are made available to the Chief Controller and prior approval of the said authority is obtained.(2)For obtaining approval under clause (b) of sub-rule (1), the following particulars shall be submitted to the Chief Controller, namely:-(i)total number and serial numbers of the cylinders;(ii)name and address of the manufacturer of the cylinders;(iii)specification of the cylinder and the valve;(iv)previous approval, if any;(v)the test and inspection certificates in respect of the cylinders;(vi)the test and inspection certificate pertaining to the valves fitted or to be fitted to the cylinder;(vii)a scrutiny fee as per Schedule V.(3)(a)The test and inspection certificate required to be obtained from the inspecting authority in respect of cylinder and valve inspected and certified by it in accordance with the approved design and specification or code shall contain the information specified in Schedule II.(b)The Chief Controller may grant approval after making such inquiry, if any, as he may consider necessary, shall accord necessary permission for production of proto type;(c)The physical evaluation of the manufacturer such as, inspection, testing, quality control facilities and witnessing the type testing of the prototype may be carried out by technical officers nominated by the Chief Controller along with inspecting authority to assess the capability of the firm to undertake the manufacture of the product by a technical team which shall submit an inspection report along with its recommendations to the Chief Controller.(d)The Chief Controller on receipt of satisfactory compliance of the requirements specified in clauses (a) and (b) and after examining all the aspects of the inspection report, and making such inquiry, if any, as he may consider necessary, shall, subject to the other provisions of the Act and these rules, by an order in writing either grant the approval to the manufacturer initially for a period of one year which may further be extended after receipt of satisfactory performance report or refuse to grant the same.(e)In case of foreign manufacturers seeking approval, additional fees shall be paid as per Schedule V for physical evaluation of the unit:Provided that if the Chief Controller grants approval without conducting the inspection, he shall issue provisional permission pending physical evaluation to the manufactured cylinders or valves for a period which may require for conducting physical evaluation of the manufacturing facilities as stipulated in clauses (b) and re-evaluation of the foreign manufacturer's unit shall be carried out once in a period of every five years.(f)While granting approval to a foreign manufacturer, his proven track record, manufacturing experience of ten years and widely distributed market share shall be considered before following the procedure laid down in sub-rule (3) (a) to (e) .(g)Scrutiny fee to seek subsequent approval for any change in respect of design drawing shall be paid as specified in Schedule V.(4)(a)Any person desiring to manufacture cylinders, valves, LPG regulators attached to self-closing valves, multi-function valves and other fittings shall obtain approval from the Chief Controller and in order to seek such approval, submit the particulars set forth in Schedule III and a scrutiny fees as Per Schedule V together with design drawings and calculations duly endorsed by inspecting Authority.(b)Scrutiny fee to seek subsequent approval for any change in respect of design drawing shall be paid as specified in Schedule V.(5)Notwithstanding anything contained in sub-rule (1), cylinders of specifications as amended from time to time not conforming to the specifications specified in Schedule I, imported into India for filling and shipment to the country of origin or supply to a foreign going vessel touching Indian port, could be filled with such gas, provided, namely:-(a)the cylinder has passed the hydrostatic test or hydrostatic stretch test, as the case may be, within the period specified in these rules and the pressure applied during the test shall be the test pressure marked on the cylinder;(b)the cylinder is not filled with-(i)any liquefiable gas in excess of the filling ratio specified in IS:3710 for low pressure liquefiable gases and IS:15975 for high pressure liquefiable gases;(ii)any permanent gas at a pressure in excess of the pressure for which the cylinder is designed;(c)a separate record of the cylinder tested and filled is maintained at the filling station;(d)the filled cylinders are removed from the filling station and shipped off as expeditiously as possible.
