109. Operation to be carried on in separate building or room within distillery or warehouse enclosure.
- The following rules shall be observed in the case of denaturing with the general denaturants :(i)Denaturing shall be conducted and the stock of denatured spirit shall be kept in a separate building or room within the distillery or warehouse enclosure which shall be approved by the Excise Commissioner. Except with the special sanction of the Chief Commissioner, no other liquid shall be kept in this room.(ii)Vats. - A fixed vat or vats of a capacity of not less than 2050 litres each shall be erected in the denaturing room and shall before use be gauged and tabulated according to rules prescribed by the Chief Commissioner.(iii)Secure room for storing denaturants. - A secure room or compartment shall be provided for the sole purpose of storing denaturants. The room or compartment shall be on the same premises but separate from the denaturing room.(iv)Denaturants to be made over to officer in charge. - The denaturants shall be procured at his own expense by the person desiring to denature spirit. They shall be lodged at the distillery or warehouse and made over to the custody of the officer in charges, who shall keep them under excise lock in the compartment or room provided for the storage of denaturants. A guarantee considered by the Chemical Examiner to the Government of West Bengal to be suitable shall be submitted with each consignment of pyridine bases to show that they have been manufactured solely from a mineral source (such as coaltar or shale).(v)Sample to be sent, to chemical examiner. - Immediately on receipt of a consignment of denaturants the officer in charge shall send a sample of 500 ml. from each receptacle to the Chemical Examiner to the Government of West Bengal together with an advice from and, in the case of pyridine bases, with a copy of the guarantee referred to in the last preceding clause.(vi)Certificate of chemical examiner necessary before use of denaturant. - No denaturant shall be used for denaturing spirit until the Chemical Examiner to the Government of West Bengal has certified that the samples thereof conform with the prescribed specifications and are suitable for denaturing alcohol. When that officer has so certified the denaturants in respect of which he has certified shall be regarded as "approved denaturants"(vii)Removal of unsuitable denaturants. - Denaturants which have been pronounced by the Chemical Examiner to the Government of West Bengal to be unsuitable for denaturing purposes shall be returned by the officer-in-charge to the owner who shall forthwith remove them from the liquor shop or warehouse.(viii)Denaturants not to be mixed in storage room. - The contents of each receptacle which contains denaturants shall be kept separate as long as they are in the compartment or room provided for the storage of denaturants, and the contents of two or more receptacles shall on no account be mixed whilst the denaturants are in that room.(ix)Minimum strength of spirit to be denatured. - The strength of the spirit to be denatured shall not be less than 60° overproof.(x)Minimum quantity. - The minimum quantity of spirit which shall be denatured at any one time shall be 1820 litres.(xi)Procedure before issue of spirit for denaturation. - No spirit shall be issued for denaturation or placed in the vat in the denaturing room unless a proper quantity of approved denaturants has been provided and the proper Excise Officer have arranged to be present.(xii)Issue of denaturants. - The proper quantity of the prescribed denaturants shall be 2½ litres of light caoutchoucine and 2½ litres of pyridine bases to every 450 litres of plain spirit to be denatured. This quantity shall be removed from the compartment or room provided for the storage of denaturants to the denaturing room in the presence of an Excise Officer, who shall keep it in his sight until it has been mixed with the spirit.(xiii)Gauge, proof and examination of spirits before denaturation. - The contents of each cask or drum containing spirits issued for denaturation shall be gauged and proved by the officer-in-charge. He shall be careful to ascertain whether any denaturant appears to be already present therein.(xiv)Admixture of spirit and denaturants. - The admixture of the spirit and the denaturants shall be effected in the vat or vats provided in the denaturing-room. The vat or vats shall be empty before operation is begun. After admixture the contents of the vat or vats shall be thoroughly mixed with a proper stirring implement. The processes of admixture and stirring shall be witnessed by two Excise Officers and the owner of the spirit or his agent.(xv)Sample of denatured spirit from each vat to be sent to Chemical Examiner. - On the expiration of 24 hours, the contents for the vat or vats shall again be thoroughly stirred, and the officer-in-charge shall immediately draw a sample from each vat and despatch it to the Chemical Examiner to the Government of West Bengal together with an advice form, a reference to the certificates relating to the denaturants used and a statement showing the manner in which the denaturation has been effected, which shall be signed by the both the Excise Officers who witnessed it.(xvi)Procedure on receipt of Chemical Examiner's report. - When the Chemical Examiner to the Government of West Bengal reports that the denaturation has been satisfactorily performed the denatured spirit may be issued in accordance with the provisions of Rules 99-A and 110. Should that officer, however, report that the denaturation has not been satisfactorily performed, the claim in respect of the whole of the spirit represented by the sample shall be rejected and the spirit shall either be dealt with in all respects as spirit chargeable with the ordinary rate of duty, if the owner of the spirit so desire, or be further treated in accordance with these rules.
