Sh50, 000 fine for selling gas without receipts

Selling cooking gas without a receipt will be an offence attracting a fine of Sh50, 000 in fresh regulations aimed at curbing illegal trades in the community.

The receipt will include name and telephone of seller, contacts of the consumer, cylinder brand, date of sale as well as serial number of the seal and gas container. This is aimed at tracking the cylinder from the retailer to homes, with the records expected to be stored for at least one year.

The fresh regulations before Parliament will also demand that oil marketers provide an insurance cover for each cylinder for compensation in case of accidents.

“A person licensed to undertake the business of retail of liquefied petroleum gas in cylinders, shall issue liquefied petroleum gas consumers with a receipt,” Petroleum (Liquefied Petroleum Gas) Regulations 2019 say. “A person who contravenes this regulation commits an offence and is liable to the fine.”

The new rules also caps transportation of gas cylinders in a car to three unless regulatory exemptions are issued in the fresh attempt to curb those dealing in illegal refills and sell the commodity at a discount of up to 25 percent.

Marketers will be expected to be in a position to track cylinders by use of Radio Frequency Identification or quick response code or any other appropriate technology under the tightened regulations.

The dealers will also be required to maintain a list of its authorised filling agents, wholesalers, retailers and cylinder requalification agents, serial numbers or quick response codes and date of requalification of each cylinder.

Wholesaler who fail to keep gas cylinder records for more than year also face a fine of Sh50,000 for each offence.