LPG Gas Cylinder Expiry Date: How To Check If Your LPG Cylinder Is Expired? Big Update On LPG Prices, Refills

There are several types of LPG cooking gas, such as domestic cylinders that come in 14.2 kg, 10 kg and 5 kg variants, and commercial LPG cylinders in 19 Kg and above variants, which are meant for industrial purposes. However, if you own a cooking gas, it is crucial to know the expiry date of your cylinder. Indian households mostly pay attention to the weight, seal and price of an LPG gas cylinder, often missing out on whether the cylinder is expired or not.

LPG Gas Cylinder Expiry Date

Generally, most of the people think that the number of years attached with alphabets like A, B, C or D displayed on the top of the cylinder is the expiry date. However, that is not the case.

The number of years along with the alphabetic code is typically the timeline for mandatory safety inspection of the gas cylinder. This code is the due date for inspection.

A means January to March, B refers to April to June, C is July to September, and D is October to December.

Example: An LPG cylinder marked as A 2027 means that they are due for testing in the first quarter (between January and March) of year 2027. Similarly, B 2027 indicates cylinders that are due for testing in the second quarter (between April and June) of year 2027 and so on. Similarly, C (between July and September) is for the third quarter and D (between October and December) for the fourth quarter.

The first mandatory test is required to be held 10 years after the manufacturing of that specific LPG cylinders. The re-testing is carried out every five years of the usage of LPG cylinders.

According to Indian Oil explainer, the LPG cylinders do not really expire. They are inspected periodically and with compulsion.

The explainer highlights that the term "expiry" normally refers to the shelf life of perishable products, which is the recommended time for safe storage and usage of such products within the time frame. However, in case of LPG cylinders, the serviceability of the cylinders depends on external physical factors and actions such as temperature, pressure, exposure to atmospheric conditions, usage, impact load, etc. As such, there is no expiry date for LPG cylinders.

It added that whenever the cylinders become due for periodic inspection & testing, the same are segregated at the bottling plants, and statutory testing is undertaken through approved contractors. After the testing, the cylinders that are found suitable for reuse/refilling are stencilled/painted with the next test due date on one of the vertical stays of the cylinders for easy identification.

The oil marketing companies generally take due care of sending the refilled LPG cylinders from the bottling plants to LPG distributorships. All LPG distributors are under instructions to check the same
before delivering cylinders to the customers.

Even in the case of old cylinders lying at home and sent back after a long period of time. These cylinders are also go through statutory testing and painting before the OMCs issue them to the market.

LPG Prices In India: Hike Or Cut Ahead?

For Indian households, LPG cylinders like 14.2 Kg, 5 Kg and 10 Kg are mostly used. In fact, as per Indian Oil, the 5 kg and 14.2 kg cylinders are largely meant for domestic use and comprise almost 90% of all gas distributed, while the 19 kg, 47.5 kg and 425 kg Jumbo cylinders are marketed for industrial and commercial consumption.

Due to elevated crude oil prices, any price change in 14.2 Kg LPG will directly hit the pockets of Indian households, but any change in prices of 19 Kg LPG will also have an indirect impact. Due to a spike in commercial LPG prices for the past two consecutive months, many restaurants and eateries have hiked the prices of their menus across the country, so eventually impacting citizens.

The commercial cylinder used by hotels and businesses is revised automatically every month because its price is a direct pass-through of the international benchmark. The domestic cooking cylinder is not. India used to import 60% of its LPG requirements, and the landed cost of that import tracks the Saudi Contract Price (CP) that Saudi Aramco sets at the start of each month. This is an external price over which the Indian consumer has no control, as per Oil Ministry explainer.

Hence, the likelihood of another hike in commercial LPG prices is on the card on November 1, 2026.

At present, the 19 Kg commercial LPG cylinder is priced at Rs 2,810 in Delhi, at Rs 2,954 in Kolkata, at Rs 2,764.50 in Mumbai and at Rs 2,983 in Chennai. In some places like Bihar and Hyderabad, the commercial LPG rates stand above Rs 3,000 mark to Rs 3,100.50 and Rs 3,065 respectively.

The probability of keeping domestic LPG prices unchanged once again cannot be ruled out. The domestic LPG prices are kept the same since June 7, 2026. Accordingly, in October 2026, 14.2 Kg LPG prices will continue to be at Rs 942 in Delhi, at Rs 968 in Kolkata, at Rs 941.50 in Mumbai, and at Rs 957.50 per cylinder in Chennai.

City	Domestic (14.2 kg)	Commercial (19 kg)
New Delhi	₹942.00 (0.00)	₹2,810.00 (+62.50)
Kolkata	₹968.00 (0.00)	₹2,954.00 (+70.00)
Mumbai	₹941.50 (0.00)	₹2,764.50 (+63.50)
Chennai	₹957.50 (0.00)	₹2,983.00 (+66.50)
Gurgaon	₹950.50 (0.00)	₹2,828.00 (+63.50)
Noida	₹939.50 (0.00)	₹2,810.00 (+62.50)
Bangalore	₹944.50 (0.00)	₹2,898.00 (+67.00)
Bhubaneswar	₹968.00 (0.00)	₹2,988.00 (+69.00)
Chandigarh	₹951.50 (0.00)	₹2,833.00 (+63.50)
Hyderabad	₹994.00 (0.00)	₹3,065.00 (+69.00)
Jaipur	₹945.50 (0.00)	₹2,839.00 (+63.00)
Lucknow	₹979.50 (0.00)	₹2,932.50 (+62.50)
Patna	₹1,031.50 (0.00)	₹3,100.50 (+71.50)
Thiruvananthapuram	₹951.00 (0.00)	₹2,849.00 (+65.00)