PESO License for Chemical Industry in Gujarat

PESO Approval for Chemical Storage

Chemical storage reaches PESO mainly through the Petroleum Rules, 2002, and the entry point is classification rather than the common name of the material. The Petroleum Act defines petroleum as any liquid hydrocarbon or mixture of hydrocarbons, and any inflammable mixture containing a liquid hydrocarbon. Materials that qualify are then classified by flash point:

PESO’s published list of petroleum requiring a licence includes benzene, toluene, hexane, xylene, styrene and naphtha alongside the obvious fuels. Separately, substances under the Inflammable Substance Act, 1952 — acetone, ethyl alcohol, methyl alcohol and calcium carbide among them — also require a licence under the Petroleum Rules. For most Gujarat chemical units, that covers a substantial share of the solvent inventory.

Other rule sets reach the same plant from a different direction. Bulk gas and pressure vessel installations fall under the SMPV(U) Rules, 2016; cylinder storage under the Gas Cylinder Rules, 2016; and calcium carbide and ammonium nitrate under their own rules. A single chemical site can therefore hold several unrelated approvals, each with its own drawing and renewal date.

Chemical Storage Licensing Requirements

Applicability is decided by a combination of factors, not by any one of them alone:

• Material classification. Whether the substance falls within the statutory definition, and which class it lands in.
• Quantity held. Thresholds matter, and they differ by class and storage mode. This is the single most common reason a unit is told it needed a licence it did not hold.
• Storage mode. Drums in a shed, day tanks, above-ground bulk tankage and underground tanks are not treated alike.
• Installation. Pumps, pipelines, loading and unloading arrangements and the electrical equipment serving them.
• Site configuration. Distances to protected works, bunding, and how the storage sits relative to the boundary and to neighbouring plots.

Change any one of these and the position can change. A unit that moves from drum handling to a bulk tank has altered its licensing position even if the annual consumption is identical.

Documents for Chemical PESO Approval

The list follows from the licence form, but chemical applications share a recognisable shape:

The document most often wrong is the material list. It gets copied forward from the last application rather than rebuilt from what the plant currently holds — and then the tank schedule does not reconcile with it.

Site & Safety Requirements

Site requirements are set by the applicable rules and vary by class, quantity and storage mode, so no page can state them as universal figures. What is consistent is what the department examines.

• Distances to protected works. Measured from the storage to defined features, and affected by what has been built on adjoining plots since your drawing was approved.
• Bunding and containment. Capacity, construction and drainage arrangements for the tankage they serve.
• Separation between storage areas. Particularly where classes are mixed on one plot.
• Electrical area classification. Equipment in hazardous areas requires approval from the Chief Controller of Explosives, with zone classification governing permitted protection types.
• Fire protection and access. Arrangements appropriate to the material and quantity, and reachable in practice.

On mature estates this is dynamic rather than fixed. A distance that was compliant when the drawing was approved can be affected by construction on the plot next door, which is why the drawing needs revisiting rather than resubmitting.

Inspection and Compliance

Where the licence category calls for a site inspection, the outcome turns on whether the plant matches the paper. The mismatches that cause trouble in chemical units are consistent:

• 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

The practical preparation is a walk-down: drawing in hand, tank by tank, checking capacities, positions and fittings against what was submitted. Where a difference is found, it is better to address it in the application than to have it identified during the visit.

Renewal & Amendments

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.

For chemical units, amendment is usually the more frequent need. It becomes relevant when:

• Storage capacity is increased or a new tank added
• A new material is introduced into an existing storage area
• Layout changes alter the approved drawing
• Company name or constitution changes
• A storage area is decommissioned or repurposed

The pattern we see most often is a plant that has amended nothing for several years and then attempts to regularise everything at renewal. That converts a routine filing into a complicated one.

Gujarat Chemical Industry Support

Gujarat’s chemical manufacturing is concentrated in clusters with distinct characteristics, and the licensing problems differ accordingly.

Our office is at GIDC Char Rasta in Vapi, and we attend sites across the South Gujarat industrial belt. Clients include Aarti Industries, Meghmani Organics, Jesons Industries and Alchemie Finechem.

Chemical Industry FAQs

Does every chemical factory in Gujarat need a PESO licence?

No. It depends on whether your materials fall within the statutory definitions, the quantities held, and the storage arrangement. A unit handling only materials outside the Petroleum Act definition, with no regulated pressure vessels or cylinders, may have no PESO requirement at all. The assessment is material by material.

Which chemicals bring a unit under the Petroleum Rules?

PESO’s published list of petroleum requiring a licence includes benzene, toluene, hexane, xylene, styrene and naphtha. Substances under the Inflammable Substance Act, 1952 — including acetone, ethyl alcohol and methyl alcohol — also require a licence under the Petroleum Rules. Classification by flash point then determines which class applies.

We changed our product mix. Do we need to do anything?

Very possibly. If a new material has been introduced into a licensed storage area, or quantities have shifted, the licensed particulars may no longer describe your operation. That is an amendment question and it is better addressed when the change happens than at the next renewal.

What are the safety distance requirements for chemical storage?

They are set by the applicable rules and vary by class, quantity and storage mode, so they cannot be stated as a single figure. What matters practically is that distances are measured to protected works as defined in the rules, and that the position can change as neighbouring plots are developed.

Do we need approval for electrical equipment in our storage area?

Electrical equipment installed in hazardous areas under the Petroleum Rules requires approval from the Chief Controller of Explosives, with zone classification governing which protection types are permitted. This is frequently missed until an electrical audit raises it.

Is a licence needed for drum storage, or only for tanks?

Storage mode is one of the factors that determines applicability, alongside material classification and quantity. Drums, day tanks and bulk tankage are not treated identically. A unit that moves from drums to a bulk tank has changed its position even at the same annual consumption.

How long does a chemical storage licence application take?

PESO’s published timeline states that online applications through the National Single Window System are auto-inwarded four times a day and processed within 21 days. That is a processing timeline, not a guaranteed outcome date, and files returned for clarification take considerably longer.

Can you review our existing licence before we apply for anything?

Yes, and for an established chemical unit that is usually the sensible starting point. Reviewing the current licence against the current plant often identifies amendment needs that would otherwise surface at renewal.