Hazardous Material Storage Approval in Gujarat

Who Needs Hazardous Storage Approval

Businesses that commonly need to work through this assessment:

• Chemical manufacturers holding solvents, intermediates and reactive materials
• Pharmaceutical and API units with bulk solvent yards
• Third-party warehouses and logistics operators handling regulated stock
• Tank farm and terminal operators
• Industrial gas businesses and manufacturing sites with bulk gas storage
• Businesses holding calcium carbide, ammonium nitrate or regulated explosive materials
• Importers and traders holding stock between shipments

Material & Storage Assessment

The assessment sorts the inventory into frameworks, then works out what each requires.

Materials falling outside all of these may still be hazardous in an operational sense while carrying no PESO requirement. That is a legitimate outcome of the assessment, not a gap in it.

Documents & Site Requirements

Documentation follows the framework each material falls under, so a mixed inventory generates more than one application. Common to most:

• Complete inventory with classification, flash point where applicable, and maximum quantities
• Site plan and key plan showing protected works
• Storage area layout with positions, containment and access
• Tank, vessel or cylinder schedules with construction and test details
• Segregation arrangements between incompatible materials
• Electrical area classification and equipment approval status
• Fire protection arrangements
• Company constitution documents, tenure papers, signatory authorisation
• Applicable NOCs, including the District Authority NOC for certain gas storage under the SMPV(U) Rules
• Safety and test certificates by a recognised competent person

The inventory is the document that does the most work and receives the least attention. Building it properly — every material, correctly classified, with a real maximum quantity rather than an aspirational one — determines whether the rest of the exercise is sound.

Safety Compliance

What the department examines when hazardous storage is assessed:

• Segregation. Incompatible materials separated appropriately, with the basis for the separation documented.
• Containment. Bunding, kerbing and drainage sized for the storage they serve.
• Distances. To protected works, boundaries and between storage areas.
• Ventilation and structure. Appropriate to the material and the storage mode.
• Electrical suitability. Equipment matched to the area classification, with approvals where required.
• Fire protection. Matched to the materials held and accessible in practice.
• Emergency arrangements. Access, spill response and safety equipment.

Requirements vary by material and quantity and are established case by case against the applicable rules rather than stated as universal figures.

Inspection & Approval

PESO has moved to a paperless process, with applications routed through the National Single Window System. PESO’s published document on disposal timelines states that online applications are auto-inwarded four times a day and are to be processed within 21 days. Read that figure for what it is — a departmental processing timeline, not a promise of when your licence arrives. Elapsed time is governed almost entirely by how often the file goes back for clarification.

Where inspection applies, the storage is examined against the submitted drawings and inventory:

• A tank or vessel relocated during construction, never reflected in the approved drawing
• Stored quantities that have crept above the licensed figure
• Safety fittings replaced with a different make or specification
• Electrical equipment in a classified area whose approval status nobody has checked
• Distances on the drawing that do not survive a tape measure
• A site team that has never seen the drawing filed on their behalf

Renewal

Renewal timing varies by rule set, and misinformation circulates freely here. A documented example: under the SMPV(U) Rules, licences are granted or renewed for a maximum of three years ending 31st March, and the last date for receipt of a renewal application at the renewing office is 2nd March of the expiry year. Other rule sets carry their own validity periods and cut-off dates — check yours against your licence document rather than assuming the SMPV position applies.

A mixed inventory usually means several approvals with different renewal dates. Keeping one register covering every approval, its framework, its expiry, its cut-off and its approved drawing reference is worth more than any individual filing.

Amendment applies whenever the inventory, quantities, storage arrangement or layout changes, or where the company name, constitution or occupancy changes. Under the SMPV(U) Rules a licence cannot be transferred between companies.

Gujarat Industry Support

We work with manufacturers, warehouse operators and storage businesses across Gujarat — the chemical estates at Ankleshwar, Panoli, Jhagadia, Nandesari, Vatva and Vapi, and the port-linked belt at Dahej, Hazira and Kandla–Mundra.

The most useful first step for a mixed inventory is usually a classification exercise: sorting the list by framework before any application is contemplated. It frequently shows that fewer materials are in scope than expected, and occasionally that something significant has been overlooked.

A One Consultant has worked on industrial licensing since 1999, from an office at GIDC Char Rasta in Vapi. For Gujarat applicants the PESO field office is the Vadodara Circle Office.

FAQs

Is there a single hazardous material storage licence?

No. Different materials fall under different rule sets and, in some cases, different authorities. A mixed inventory commonly generates more than one application, each with its own form, drawing and renewal date.

Which hazardous materials fall under PESO?

Petroleum and inflammable mixtures under the Petroleum Rules, compressed and liquefied gases in vessels under the SMPV(U) Rules, gas cylinders under the Gas Cylinder Rules, regulated explosives under the Explosives Rules, and ammonium nitrate and calcium carbide under their own rules.

Does PESO cover pollution or effluent matters?

No. PESO administers petroleum, explosives, gases, pressure vessels and related materials. Pollution control, effluent and emissions fall to other authorities. Our practice does not extend to GPCB, CPCB or Drug Department matters.

What if a material falls outside all PESO frameworks?

That is a legitimate outcome. A material can be hazardous in operational terms while carrying no PESO requirement. Other obligations may still apply through different authorities, but no PESO application is needed for it.

How should we start with a large mixed inventory?

With a classification exercise: sort the full list by framework before contemplating any application. This usually shows fewer materials in scope than expected, and occasionally identifies something significant that had been overlooked.

What does segregation mean in practice?

Keeping incompatible materials apart, with the basis for the separation documented rather than assumed. It applies to bulk and packaged storage alike, and to full versus empty cylinders where gases are held.

Do we need an NOC for gas storage?

Under the SMPV(U) Rules, storage of compressed gases other than non-flammable, non-toxic gases requires a no-objection certificate from the District Authority. Its lead time sits outside the licensing process.

How do we manage several approvals with different dates?

Keep one register covering every approval, its framework, expiry, renewal cut-off and approved drawing reference. Tracking each within the department that uses the material is how cut-off dates get missed.