Disposal of Seized
ODS Refrigerants through Re-export – Customs Issues Draft Procedure
[CBEC Draft Circular F. No. 711.20.2013 Cus (AS)
dated 14th August 2014]
Subject: Draft Circular pertaining to disposal of seized/confiscated
cylinder filled with refrigerant gases seeking comments thereon- reg.
Your attention is invited to Circular no. 20/2009 -Cus
dated 19.06.2009 on disposal of refrigerant gases. Looking into the
difficulties faced by the field formations in disposal of refrigerant gases, a
fresh circular on the issue is proposed to be issued to address the issue. Copy
of the draft circular is enclosed below.
2. Feedback and
suggestions are solicited from the stake holders for improvement / amendment in
the same, to make the circular effective for speedy disposal of hazardous
refrigerant gases. The comments / suggestions may be sent at acmallick@nic.in.
Draft Circular
Subject: Disposal of seized / confiscated cylinders
filled with refrigerant gases.
Attention is invited to the Board's Circular No
20/2009-Customs dated 19.06.2009 as amended vide corrigenda dated 18.10.2010
and 15.02.2011 on the above subject. It has been brought to the notice of the
Board that the field formations are facing difficulties with regard to disposal
of seized / confiscated cylinders filled with refrigerant gases. Accordingly,
the matter was taken up with Chief Controller of Explosives, Petroleum &
Safety Organization(PESO), Nagpur; Director, Ozone Cell -Ministry of
Environment and Forest (MoEF), New Delhi and the Refrigerant Gas Manufacturers
Association (REGMA) – (an association of HCFC/HFC refrigerant gas producers in
India). Based on the feedback received from them and after examination of the
matter, the following instructions in this regard are issued in supersession of
all earlier Circular /Instructions on the above subject:-
1. To facilitate
a regulatory framework for smoother and safe disposal of such seized /
confiscated cylinders filled with refrigerant gases the following need to be
observed:
i. As per
Rule 3 of the Gas Cylinder Rules, 2004(in supersession of the Gas Cylinders
Rules, 1981), framed under the Explosives Act, 1884, 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
1 as amended from time-to-time by an order issued by the 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.
ii. As per Rule
29 of the said Rules, no person shall import any cylinder filled or
intended to be filled with any compressed gas except under and in accordance
with the conditions of a licence granted under these rules and the relevant
provisions of Foreign Trade (Development & Regulations) Act, 1992.
iii Also, as per
Rule 43 of the said Rules, no person shall fill any cylinder with
compressed gas and no cylinder filled with compressed gas shall be possessed by
anyone except under and in accordance with the conditions of a licence granted
under these rules.
iv. In accordance
with the provisions laid down under the Gas Cylinder Rules, 1981, Department of
Explosives issues licence for filing/ re-filing / storing / transporting in gas
cylinders. The disposal of gas cylinders which are not of a make and type
approved by Chief Controller of Explosives, Nagpur under Rule 3 of the Gas
Cylinders Rules, 2004 by way of auction can thus be made only to those parties
which possess valid licences from PESO for filling of refrigerant gases
into cylinders and facilities for storage of filled refrigerant cylinders and
to deal with the same in the manner laid down under the Gas Cylinder Rules,
2004 (to store compressed gas in pressure vessels or vessels or cylinders and
to produce / handle / store / fill refrigerant gases).
v. The said
cylinder should be de-shaped after disposal of the refrigerant gas complying
with the requirements of Rule 36 of the Gas Cylinder Rules, 2004. The
cylinders after flattening or cutting may be sold as scrap. In this connection IS:
9200may please be referred for the procedure for the condemnation and
scrapping of such cylinders. The report of the same need to be forwarded to the
Chief Controller of Explosives, Nagpur for record.
vi. Empty Seized
/Confiscated cylinders (with no refrigerant gas inside) need not necessarily be
auctioned by the Department to the firms listed under this Circular only and
after getting it verified that the same are empty, may be disposed of by
General auction / sold as scrap after obtaining undertaking to dispose of same
as per requirements of Rule 36 of the Gas Cylinder Rules, 2004 following
IS: 9200 procedure. The Controller of explosives has been requested to
facilitate PESO permission to the purchaser firms of refrigerant gases from
Customs for destruction/disposal of decanted cylinders in a week's time of
putting in the application.
2 India, being
a signatory to the Montreal Protocol- the multilateral environment treaty,
needs to comply with the agreed schedule of production and consumption for
phase-out of Ozone Depleting Substances (ODSs), including Hydro
chlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs), and to comply with the regulatory regime in
respect of consumption and production of these substances in India.
2.1 Chlorofluorocarbons
(CFC 11 and CFC12) are already phased -out under the Montreal Protocol and
are not allowed to be imported, produced, consumed in India and exported out of
India under the ODS Rules. Hence, no one can participate in off-take of the
seized cylinders containing CFCs. As it is a banned item and cannot be
reprocessed/disposed off due to the above reasons, the importer should be asked
to send the material back with punitive measures.
2.2 As a measure
of accelerated phase-down of HCFCs under the Montreal Protocol, the Consumption
of HCFCs in India is now frozen. Imports of HCFC 22 and their Blends are,
therefore, not allowed in India without Licence as per the revised ODS Rules
and FTP hence the importer should be asked to send the material back with
punitive measures.
2.3 From time to
time, as a measure to stop illegal import of refrigerants, Customs has
been seizing/confiscating cylinders filled with refrigerant gases being brought
into the country illegally. Such seized / confiscated refrigerants cylinders
are required to be disposed of by the Customs through an auction process, to
the eligible firms, who are required to re-export the same after reprocessing,
or dispose of the same as per procedure prescribed by the MoEF in accordance
with ODS Rules and to submit details as per Rules to the MoEF.
2.4 It is also
seen that HCFC-22 is often imported by unscrupulous elements by mislabelling
and misdeclaring the same. To prevent such illegal imports, it is necessary to
identify the actual refrigerant gas being imported by use of
refrigerant identifiers, viz. Refrigerant Analysers available with DRI to
identify the actual gas being imported before clearance.
2.5 As per the
Montreal Protocol requirements, the MoEF monitors production, consumption,
import and export of ODSs through the data submitted by various Producers,
concerned Departments / Ministries and also through the audit. The MoEF has
stated that in case of traders/wholesalers/ Stockiest or other consumers, there
is no possible system of audit through which the movement of ODS including
HCFCs can be traced within the country. Hence, no system can be put in place
for tracking the flow of ODS if the confiscated/ seized cylinders are sold to
such firms. The MoEF favors disposal of HCFCs to the firms which are Producers
of HCFC-22 and who have the wherewithal , technical resources and competency to
dispose of HCFC-22 through safe recycling and reprocessing in their production
facilities.
3. After
consultation with the Ozone Cell, MoEF the prescribed following criteria /
guide lines are prescribed for disposing of the seized/confiscated refrigerant
CFC empty/full cylinders:-
i. They should
have specific permission to decant such cylinder in approved cylinders.
ii. They should
have facility to decant the gas, purify it and repack the gas for export.
iii. The Custom authorities
must take an undertaking from the producers of refrigerant gas (who are
approved by CCOE to purchase and sale such material) that the gas purchased
from the Customs is only for export with a valid licence and should not be
delivered for domestics sales
iv. In case the CFC
producers are not able to export the entire stock, they should take measures to
ensure that the stockpile is destroyed as per the guidelines/procedure of
Montreal Protocol. The disposal of refrigerant gases(CFCs) by incineration
would also require clearance from State Pollution Control Boards and / or
Central Pollution Control Board on which the Director, Ozone Cell has agreed to
facilitate the approval process subject to the proposal being received through
the Customs field formations/CBEC.
v. Name of the
countries from where the cylinder containing such refrigerant gases were
illegally imported should be intimated to the Ozone Cell, so that the National
Ozone Units (NOUs) of those countries may be informed of the same to prevent
further illegal import to India.
4. The disposal
of seized refrigerant cylinders can be made through auction in accordance with
the provisions laid down under the Gas Cylinder Rules, 2004 to the firms listed
here under provided they are specifically permitted in writing to decant such
gases in approved cylinders by the Chief Controller of Explosives. The
intimation to this effect may be given to the Chief Controller of Explosives,
Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation, C.G.O Complex, 5th Floor, Seminary
Hills, NAGPUR -440006 and to the Director, Ozone Cell Ministry of Environment
& Forests Core 4B, 2nd Floor, India Habitat Centre Lodhi Road, New
Delhi-110003 Fax No : +91-11-24642175 Email : ozone-mef@nic.in along with
details of cylinders who will ensure that the corresponding quantity is
accordingly debited from the prescribed quota of the concerned manufacturer.
The firms are already advised by the Chief Controller of Explosives to extend
necessary cooperation and guidance for disposal of refrigerant cylinders to the
Customs authorities in the interest of public safety whenever any reference in
this regard is received by them.
1) M/s Navin
Fluorine International Limited, 2nd Floor, Sunteck Centre,
37/40, Subash Road, Vile Parle (East) Mumbai 400057. Factory: New
Industrial Area Agra – Mumbai Road Dewas – Madhya Pradesh, PIN – 455002 India
Tel: 91 261 2890325 Fax: 91 261 2890288
2) M/s Gujarat
Fluorochemicals Limited: INOX Towers, Plot No. 17, Sector 16-A, Noida –
201301 U.P. E-mail: sunilarora@gfl.co.in (Plant at VADODARA)
3) M/s SRF
LIMITED, Block-C, Sector-45, Gurgaon-122003 Haryana E-mail
ryrl@sanmargroup.com
4) M/s
Chemplast Sanmar Limited, 9, Cathedral Road, Chennai-600086 E-mail
ryrl@sanmargroup.com
5) M/s
Hindustan Fluorocarbons Limited, (a Subsidiary of M/s, Hindustan Organic
Chemical Ltd a Government of India Enterprise) 303, 3rd floor Babukhan Estate,
Bashir Bagh, Hyderabad 500001 Email: hiflonpurchase@gmail.com
5.1 Since only
above mentioned firms are eligible so far to participate in auction the field
formations taking up disposal of such refrigerant gas cylinders should
communicate about the auction to all of them and to the Secretary, Refrigerant
Gas Manufacturers Association (REGML-1), C/o SRF Limited, Block-C, Sector-45,
Gurgaon-122003 to have better price and improved chances of disposal.
5.2 When the
refrigerant cylinders to be auctioned are in large quantity, the auctioning
authority may consider the option of having auction of smaller lots of
cylinders (of 1,000 2,000 each) as a single enterprise may not be in a position
to process such large quantity of cylinders.
5.3 All the field
formations should send details regarding quantity and type of ripe for disposal
refrigerant gas cylinders to the Commissioner, Directorate of Logistics, New
Delhi (along with copy to the Under Secretary (Anti Smuggling Unit CBEC) by
31-08.2014 who will monitor the timely disposal of same by field formations
6. Any
difficulty in the implementation of the aforesaid measures may be brought to
the notice of the Board. All the previous circulars / references issued on the
subject may be deemed to have been superseded.
7. Suitable
Public Notice may be issued for guidance of the trade.