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These days, there is a shortage of LPG gas cylinders in many areas of the country. After the implementation of the new system of cylinder booking and delivery at an interval of 25 days, the fear of suddenly running out of gas has increased significantly among the people. Due to these reasons, many people have started storing more cylinders at home than they need, due to which the chances of black marketing and illegal hoarding have also increased rapidly.

In view of such apprehensions, strict action has been taken by the local administration in many states of the country regarding hoarding of LPG cylinders. Around 8,208 LPG cylinders were seized during a special checking operation conducted in Odisha in August 2026. Under this action, FIRs were registered against 46 people and 492 cases were registered under the 'Essential Commodities Act'.

Perhaps very few of us would be aware that keeping LPG cylinders in the house more than the prescribed limit can be considered a direct violation of the rules. Generally, a domestic consumer is allowed to have a maximum of two LPG cylinders at a time—one in use and the other as a backup. If more filled cylinders than this are found in a house, then the landlord or consumer may be accused of hoarding and legal action may be taken against him. Let us know what are the rules to keeping domestic LPG cylinder at home and in which situation it can cause big trouble for you.

What are the rules for keeping LPG cylinder at home?

Under the 'Essential Commodities Act, 1955', a normal domestic consumer is generally allowed to have a maximum of two LPG cylinders of 14.2 kg each. One of these cylinders is used as a live connection, while the other cylinder can be kept as a backup or spare. If a person stores more number of LPG cylinders in his house than the normal domestic requirement, then legally it can be considered as illegal hoarding. In such a situation, investigation can be done by the concerned authorities and strict legal action can be taken for violation of rules.

What action can be taken in such a situation?

If more than 2 filled LPG cylinders are found in your house by the administration team or Food Department officials, a thorough investigation can be done on the spot. At the same time, if the investigation finds clear violation of rules on your part, then in this situation all the extra cylinders can be immediately confiscated and a legal case can be registered against you.

Since LPG gas has been categorized as an 'essential commodity' by the government, if any kind of black marketing, hoarding or unauthorized storage is found, legal action can be taken under non-bailable sections under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955.