Methanol, ethanol and industrial alcohol approvals in Tamil Nadu
Who this applies to
- Rectified spirit or absolute alcohol for industrial, non-potable use is looked at under the Tamil Nadu Rectified Spirit Rules, 2000 (RL-4).
- Denatured spirit or methyl alcohol for a specified manufacture is looked at under the Tamil Nadu Denatured Spirit, Methyl Alcohol and Varnish (French Polish) Rules, 1959 (DL-2).
- Manufacturing spirit in a distillery is the Tamil Nadu Distillery Rules, 1981. An RL-4 user licence is not that privilege.
What product you actually have
Methanol, ethanol, rectified spirit, absolute alcohol, denatured spirit and potable liquor are not one regulatory product. Which Central inflammable-substance control and which Tamil Nadu excise control apply depends on the composition, any denaturant, the purpose, whether you manufacture or only possess, the flash point and the quantity.
| Product and use | Route to test |
|---|---|
| Rectified spirit or absolute alcohol, industrial and non-potable, outside other specified categories | RL-4 under the Tamil Nadu Rectified Spirit Rules, 2000 |
| Denatured spirit or methyl alcohol for a specified manufacture other than varnish | DL-2 under the 1959 Rules |
| Establishing or manufacturing spirit in a distillery | Tamil Nadu Distillery Rules, 1981 |
| Storage as an inflammable liquid | PESO, where the petroleum rules apply |
| Quantity above a hazardous-chemical threshold | MSIHC |
PESO treats methyl alcohol and ethyl alcohol as substances that need a licence under the Petroleum Rules, 2002, through the Inflammable Substances Act, 1952. Take the class from the flash point on the product's safety data sheet. Pure methanol and ethanol both flash well below 23°C, the upper limit for petroleum Class A, so the diesel (Class B) quantity bands do not apply to them.
What it costs to get wrong
Holding or using the product outside the State licence, and storing it outside the PESO licence its class and quantity require, are separate breaches. This page does not state a fine. Neither licence covers the other: a State excise licence does not authorise the storage installation, and a PESO licence does not authorise possession under the excise rules.
The process
Fix the product and the State licence class
Get the specification, denaturants, strength, flash point, CAS number and intended use, then decide whether the activity is manufacture, possession or use and whether the product is potable. Potable alcohol is outside the industrial licences on this page.
File the application, not a document you have misnamed as the licence
For RL-4, the Commissionerate procedure identifies Form R.A.4 as the application and R.L.4 as the licence, made to the Commissioner of Prohibition and Excise. The Commissioner grants an R.L.4 licence only with the Government's prior approval (Tamil Nadu Rectified Spirit Rules, 2000). The published list can include factory, local-body, fire, police, public-health, TNPCB and PESO records, as applicable to that class.
For DL-2, the published procedure uses Form D.A.1 and asks for storage details and no-objections from fire, public health, TNPCB and police. Confirm that your product and use still fit DL-2. These checklists are product-specific, not a universal chemical no-objection.
A distillery operates on the establishment and manufacturing privilege under the Distillery Rules, and renews on the form those Rules prescribe.
Add transport and account controls, then amend when the tank changes
State import, export and transport permits, and the pass or account registers, can apply even to an industrial product, and PESO transport controls and the dangerous-goods transport rules sit separately again, so do not dispatch on the premises licence alone. A change of quantity, product, tank, process or ownership needs the amendment that licence requires, and every licence needs renewing before it expires.
Common failure points
- Treating ethanol as automatically potable, or as automatically denatured.
- Calling Form R.A.4 the licence. It is the application. R.L.4 is the licence named in the procedure.
- Using an RL-4 possession licence as authority to manufacture spirit.
- Dropping PESO because an excise licence exists, or dropping excise because a PESO licence exists.
- Using one alcohol licence for a different product or purpose.
Storing methanol or industrial ethanol?
Send us the specification, the strength, the quantity and the use. We will separate the State excise licence from any PESO or MSIHC filing, and tell you which application form is not the licence.