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How to check expiry date of a gas cylinder

Published

6 years ago

June 18, 2019

Gas cylinders are essential components in our kitchens and almost every home owns it. it is important to know that a gas cylinder could be as dangerous as its importance if certain factors are not checked constantly.

There have been many cases of gas cylinder explosions and when this happens, lives are lost and properties worth millions are destroyed. It is alarming that up till now, so many people are not aware of the fact that gas cylinders have expiry dates.

Here are danger signs to watch out for and guides to help you ascertain when your gas cylinder is due for change:

Cooking gas cylinders must not exceed five years: most people using gas cylinders hardly remember when it was bought. It is important to keep track of the days and replace them as soon as possible.
Do not buy used Gas cylinders.
Watch out for the expiry dates: The steps to check the expiry date are very simple and basic. The expiry of LPG cylinder can be found on one of the metal strips that connect the body of the cylinder to top ring (handle). It is mentioned on the inner side of the strip. The strip has any of the alphabets from A to D painted on it along with a number. Decoding the expiry date is simple. The alphabet represents the month it expires while the number indicates the year. A year is divided into four quarters :

A – January to March

B – April to June

C – July to September

D – October to December

For example, your cylinder has ‘A 18 painted on the metal strip. The alphabet A represents the month March and 18 indicate the year 2018.

Use gas cylinders in a vertical position, unless specifically designed to be used otherwise
Securely restrain cylinders to prevent them from falling over
Always double check that the cylinder/gas is the right one for the intended use.
Before connecting a gas cylinder to equipment or pipe-work make sure that the regulator and pipe-work are suitable for the type of gas and pressure being used.
When required, wear suitable safety shoes and other personal protective equipment when handling gas cylinders.
Do not use gas cylinders for any other purpose than the transport and storage of gas.
Do not drop, roll or drag gas cylinders.
Close the cylinder valve and replace dust caps, where provided when a gas cylinder is not in use.
Where appropriate, fit cylinders with residual pressure valves (non-return valves) to reduce the risk of backflow of water or other materials into the cylinder during use that might corrode it (e.g. beer forced into an empty gas cylinder during cylinder change-over).
Ensure the valve is protected by a valve cap or collar, or that the valve has been designed to withstand impact if the cylinder is dropped.
Store gas cylinders in a dry, safe place on a flat surface in the open air. If this is not reasonably practicable, store in an adequately ventilated building or part of a building specifically reserved for this purpose.

· Cylinders containing flammable gas should not be stored in part of a building used for other purposes.
· Protect gas cylinders from external heat sources that may adversely affect their mechanical integrity.
· Gas cylinders should be stored away from sources of ignition and other flammable materials.
· Avoid storing gas cylinders so that they stand or lie in water.
· Ensure the valve is kept shut on empty cylinders to prevent contaminants from getting in.
· Store gas cylinders securely when they are not in use. They should be properly restrained unless designed to be free-standing.
· Gas cylinders must be clearly marked to show what they contain and the hazards associated with their contents.
· Store cylinders where they are not vulnerable to hazards caused by impact, e.g. from vehicles such as fork-lift trucks.

NAN

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Business

Tax Reform Bills: The Verdict of Nigerians

Published

1 week ago

March 6, 2025

The Gleamer

Ismaila Ahmad Abdullahi Ph.D

The public hearings conducted recently by the two Chambers of the National Assembly have elicited positive responses from a broad spectrum of Nigerians, cutting across regional interest groups, government agencies, civil society groups, concerned individuals, the academia, and Labour Unions, among diverse others. Contrary to a few dissensions hitherto expressed in the media, almost all the stakeholders who spoke during the week-long sessions were unanimous in their declaration that the hallowed Chambers should pass the tax reform bills after a clean-up of the grey areas.

The public hearings were auspicious for all Nigerians desirous of economic growth and fiscal responsibility. They were also a watershed moment for the Federal Inland Revenue Service, which had been upbeat about the tax reforms. Indeed, the public hearings had rekindled hope in the tenets of democracy that guarantee freedom of expression and equitable space for cross-fertilisation of ideas. Without gainsaying the fact, the tax reform bills have been unarguably about the most thought-provoking issues in Nigeria today, drawing variegated perspectives and commentaries from even unlikely quarters such as the faith-based leaders, student bodies, and trade unions, which speaks much about the importance of the bills.

In the build-up to the public hearings, not many people believed that the bills would make it to the second reading, much less the public hearings. Even the Northern stakeholders who seemed unlikely to support the passage of the bills have softened their stance and have given valuable suggestions that would enrich the substance of the bills. The Arewa Consultative Forum came to the public hearings well-prepared with a printed booklet that addressed their concerns. It concluded with an advisory that the bills should be “Well planned, properly communicated, strategically implemented and ample dialogue and political consensus allowed for the reforms to be accepted.”

The concerns of ACF ranged from the composition of the proposed Nigeria Revenue Service Board as contained in Part 111, Section 7 of the bill, the unlimited Presidential power to exempt/wave tax payment as proposed in Section 75(1) of the bill, the family income or inheritance tax as contained in Part 1, Section 4(3) of the bill, to the issues around development levy and VAT. On the development levy, the ACF stated that unless the Federal Government is considering budgetary funding for TETFUND, NASENI and NITDA, it does not see the “wisdom behind the plan to replace (them) with NELFUND”.

The position of the North was equally reinforced by the Supreme Council for Shariah in Nigeria, Northern Elders Forum, Kano State Government, Professor Auwalu Yadudu, and the FCT Imams. Like the ACF, these stakeholders lent their respective voices to the Section on the Inheritance Tax in Part 1 of the bill and the use of the term ‘ecclesiastical’, which, in their views, undermines certain religious rights and beliefs. The Kano State Government, represented by Mahmud Sagagi, affirmed that “we support tax modernisation” but cautioned that “we must ensure that this process does not come at the expense of states’ constitutional rights and economic stability”. Professor Auwalu Yadudu, a constitutional law professor, drew attention to the use of the ‘supremacy clause’ and cautioned that the repeated use of “notwithstanding” in the bills would undermine the supremacy of the Nigerian constitution if passed as such.

Other stakeholders that made contributions at the sessions included the Nigeria Liquefied Natural Gas, Fiscal Responsibility Commission, Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, Federal Ministry of Industry, Trade and Investment, Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria, Nigeria Customs Service, and a host of others. While most of their concerns bordered on technical issues requiring fine-tuning, they were unanimous in their support for the bills. They aligned with the position of the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Zacch Adedeji, Ph.D. and the Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Fiscal Policy and Tax Reforms, Mr Taiwo Oyedele, which is that the extant tax laws and fiscal regulations are obsolete necessitating reforms aimed at creating a fair and equitable tax and fiscal space to grow Nigeria’s economy.

In one of the sessions, Dr Zaach Adedeji expounded on the criss-cross of trade activities in the Free Trade Zone whereby companies misuse tax waivers as exporters to sell their goods or services in the Customs Area at an amount usually less than the price the operators in the Customs Area who pay VAT and other taxes sell theirs thereby disrupting business transactions. This way, the operators in the Free Trade Zone shortchange the government in paying their due taxes by circumventing extant regulations, which are inimical to the economy’s growth.

Overall, the presentations were forthright, foresighted, and helpful in elucidating the issues contained in the bills. According to the statistics read out at the end of the hearings at the Senate, 75 stakeholders were invited, 65 made submissions, and 61 made presentations. At the House of Representatives 53 stakeholders made presentations. By all means, this is a fair representation. Given the presentations, it is evident that the National Assembly has gathered enough materials to guide its deliberations on the bills. As we look forward to the passage of the bills, we commend the leadership of the National Assembly for their unwavering commitment to making the bills see the light of the day.

Abdullahi is the Director of the Communications and Liaison Department, FIRS.

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