Boilers Act, 1923
No: 5 Dated: Feb, 23 1923
THE BOILERS ACT, 1923
ACT NO. 5 OF 1923
An Act to consolidate and amend the law relating to steam-boilers.
Whereas it is expedient to consolidate and amend the law relating to steam-boilers; it is hereby enacted as follows:-
1. Short title, extent and commencement.—(1) This Act may he called the Boilers Act, 1923.
(2) It extends to the whole of India.
(3) It shall come into force on such date5 as the Central Government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, appoint.
2. Definitions.—In this Act, unless there is anything repugnant in the subject or context,—
(a) "accident" means an explosion of boiler, or boiler component, which is calculated to weaken the strength or an uncontrolled release of water or steam therefrom, liable to cause death or injury to any person or damage to any property;
(aa) "Board" means the Central Boilers Board constituted under section 27-A;
(b) "boiler" means a pressure vessel in which steam is generated for use external to itself by application of heat which is wholly or partly under pressure when steam is shut off but does not include a pressure vessel, -
(i) with capacity less than 25 litres (such capacity being measured from the feed check valve to the main steam stop valve);
(ii) with less than one kilogram per centimetre square design gauge pressure and working gauge pressure; or
(iii) in which water is heated below one hundred degrees centi grade;
(ba) "boiler component" means steam piping, feed piping, economiser, superheater, any mounting or other fitting and any other external or internal part of a boiler which is subject to pressure exceeding one kilogram per centimetre square gauge;
(c) "Chief Inspector" , "Deputy Chief Inspector" and "Inspector" mean, respectively, a person appointed to be a Chief Inspector, a Deputy Chief Inspector and an Inspector under this Act;
(ca) "Competent Authority" means an institution recognised in such man ner as may be prescribed by regulations for issue of certificate to the welders for welding of boiler and boiler components;
(cb) "Competent Person" means a person recognised in such manner as may be prescribed by regulations for inspection and certification of boilers and boiler components during manufacture, erection and use. All Inspectors shall be ipso facto competent persons;
(cc) "economiser" means any part of a feed-pipe that is wholly or partially exposed to the action of flue gases for the purpose of recovery of waste heat;
(ccc) "feed-pipe" means any pipe or connected fitting wholly or partly under pressure through which feed water passes directly to a boiler and which does not form an integral part thereof;
(ccd) "Inspecting Authority" means an institution recognised in such manner as may be prescribed by regulations for the inspection and certification of boilers and boiler components during manufacture. All Chief Inspectors of Boilers shall be ipso facto Inspecting Authorities;
(cce) "manufacture" means manufacture, construction and fabrication of boiler or boiler component, or both;
(ccf) "manufacturer" means a person engaged in the manufacture;
(d) "owner" includes any person possessing or using a boiler as agent of the owner thereof and any person using a boiler which he has hired or obtained on loan from the owner thereof;
(e) "prescribed" means prescribed by regulations or rules made under this Act;
(f) "steam pipe" means any pipe through which steam passes if -
(i) the pressure at which steam passes through such pipe exceeds 3.5. kilogram per square centimetres above atmospheric pressure, or
(ii) such pipe exceeds 254 millimetres in internal diameter and the pressure of steam exceeds 1 kilogram per square centimetres above the atmospheric pressure, and includes in either case any connected fitting of a steam-pipe;
(g) "structural alteration, addition or renewal" means, -
(i) any change in the design of a boiler or boiler component;
(ii) replacement of any part of boiler or boiler component by a part which does not conform to the same specification; or
(iii) any addition to any part of a boiler or boiler component;
(h) "superheater" means any equipment which is partly or wholly exposed to flue gases for the purpose of raising the temperature of steam beyond the saturation temperature at that pressure and includes a re-heater;
(i) "Technical Adviser" means the Technical Adviser appointed under sub-section (1) of section 4-A.
2-A. Application of Act to feed-pipes. - Every reference in this Act except where the word "steam-pipe" is used in clause (f)of section 2 to a steam-pipe or steam-pipes shall be deemed to include also a reference to a feed-pipe or feed-pipes, respectively.
2-B. Application of Act to economisers. - Every reference in this Act to a boiler or boilers except in clause (ccc) of section 2, shall be deemed to include also a reference to an economiser or economisers, respectively.