Draft Petroleum Law Eases Licence Violations, Raises Fines for Serious Offences
What Happened
The Centre has proposed amendments to the Petroleum Act, 1934 that would replace criminal prosecution for petroleum licence violations with a civil penalty regime. Under the draft rules, first-time licence breaches could attract penalties of up to ₹2.5 crore, rising to ₹5 crore for repeat violations. At the same time, the government has proposed much stricter punishment for serious offences such as unauthorised petroleum operations, damage to petroleum infrastructure and safety-related violations, with fines of up to ₹25 crore and imprisonment in certain cases.
Key Takeaways
The proposed reforms aim to reduce criminal liability for routine regulatory violations while increasing deterrence against offences that threaten public safety, petroleum facilities and critical infrastructure.