The Department of Energy said Thursday it will strictly enforce the July 7 deadline for obtaining a license to operate and certificate of registration under the LPG Regulation Act.
It issued an advisory informing the public about the July 7, 2023 deadline prescribed in Section 24 of the LPG Industry Regulation Act and implemented through Section 39.1 of the agency’s Department Circular No.DC2022-11-0037 otherwise known as the “Guidelines on the Registration and Issuance of License to Operate to Qualified DOE-Regulated LPG Industry Participants and Penalizing Certain Prohibited Acts.
The deadline is the end of the six-month transition period for LPG participants already engaged in the business as mandated by the law.
The agency said this is consistent with the legal opinion issued by the DOE’s Legal Services dated July 6, 2023.
“Please be informed further that pursuant to Section 39.1 of Department Circular No.DC2022- 11-0037, any existing standards compliance certificate shall be considered void after 7 July 2023,” it said.
The agency said any DOE-regulated LPG industry participants conducting business in the LPG industry without the said LTO and corresponding applicable COR would be in violation of the prohibited acts and would be penalized accordingly under the LPG Industry Regulation Act.
“The 07 July 2023 deadline however does not prevent any applicant to continue the submission of LTO and COR application and the DOE will continue to accept and process them beyond the said deadline,” the DOE said.
Under Chapter 5 of the LPG Regulation Act on registration, licenses and permits, every LPG industry participant should secure a license to operate for a specific activity from the DOE.
“All LPG industry participants shall conduct business only with LPG industry participants with a valid license to operate for the specific activity they are engaged in,” the law states.
The DOE said it has the exclusive authority to issue the license to operate. The license will be valid for a period of three years or any such period as may be determined by the DOE.
“Any person already engaged in any activity as defined herein, at the time of the effectivity of this Act, shall obtain a license to operate within six months from the promulgation of this Act’s implementing rules and regulations,” according to the LPG Regulation Act.
