Gas Cylinder Booking Rules In May 2026: Will 25-Days & 45-Days LPG Refill Rules Change For Indane, BP, HP Gas

Anticipations have mounted that LPG gas cylinder rules could change in May 2026. One of the many expectations is the lock-in period of 25 days and 45 days for refilling LPG cylinders. This lock-in period varies from customer locations such as urban and rural areas.

However, they were announced in early March 2026 when India struggled with sharp LPG supply shortage crisis. But now the government has said, despite the geopolitical situation, 100% supply is being made to domestic LPG, PNG and CNG. Hence, whether the lock-in rules would be revised will be keenly watched.

Gas Cylinder Booking Rules Of 25 Days & 45-Days:

Among many measures to meet both supply and demand side of LPG cylinders, the government had increased the booking interval lock-in period for LPG purchases. The government imposed 25-days gap for refilling LPG but only for customers who reside in urban areas. Later on, government also levied 45 days gap for refilling for customers in rural areas.

This was changed from the standard LPG refilling lock-in period of 21 days to cushion the LPG crisis.

However, the situations are slightly better in April-end than compared to when US-Israel-Iran war blew at full-scale in March 2026.

LPG Cylinders Supply:

In its latest update, the Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas said, "Despite the ongoing geopolitical situation, the Government has ensured that 100% supply is being made to Domestic LPG, Domestic PNG and CNG (Transport)."

However, the ministry also added on April 29 that LPG supply continues to be affected by the prevailing geopolitical situation. But it assured that there has been no dry-outs at distribution centre.

In fact, online LPG cylinder bookings increased to 98% on industry basis yesterday. Delivery Authentication Code (DAC) based deliveries have increased to more than 94% to prevent diversion. DAC is received on the registered mobile number of the consumer.

Further, the ministry pointed out that total commercial LPG allocation has been increased to about 70% of pre-crisis levels, including 10% reform-linked allocation.

Also, on April 29, the Petroleum & Natural Gas Ministry's Joint Secretary, Sujata Sharma confirmed that the supply is without any disruption. She said, "Our domestic LPG supply continues without any disruption. There is no dry-out situation anywhere for LPG distributors in the country."

"Due to the West Asia crisis, LPG imports have been affected. However, domestic LPG supply has continued without any disruption, and household supply remains steady," she added.

Sharma highlighted that online bookings are at an all-time high, and DAC-based domestic LPG cylinder deliveries are also at an all-time high. She added, "There has been some impact on the supply of commercial LPG, but it has now been restored to around 70%."

She said, in the first 28 days of April, more than 1.84 lakh tonnes of commercial LPG have been sold.

LPG Cylinder Booking Advisory:

The government has continued to issue advisory and citizen awareness when it comes to buying LPG cylinders.

1. Citizens are advised to avoid panic purchase of petrol, diesel and LPG as the Govt is making all efforts to ensure availability of petrol, diesel and LPG.

2. Beware of rumours and rely on official sources for correct information.

3. LPG consumers are requested to use digital booking platforms and avoid visiting distributors.

4. Citizens are encouraged to use alternate fuels such as PNG and electric or induction cooktops.

5. All citizens are requested to make necessary efforts to conserve energy in their daily use during the current situation.

It needs to be noted that Indian OMCs like HPCL, Indian Oil and HPCL decides the prices of LPG cylinders for domestic commercial use. They also decide the prices of industrial gas cylinders as well. The most popular LPG cylinder of Indian Oil is Indane Gas, while BPCL sells LPG as Bharat Gas and last but not the least HP Gas is sold by HPCL.

However, it needs to be noted that there is no government confirmation or proposal known as of now that the lock-in period for LPG refill could ease. These are speculations.