IS 803:1976 is the Indian standard code of practice for design, fabrication and erection of vertical mild steel cylindrical welded oil storage tanks, firstly published in 1962 and then first revision in 1976. After that no further revisions were observed till the date except a small amendment published in 1984. At present, API standard 650 on welded tanks for oil storage is widely accepted and used in many countries including India. The standard comprises detailed provisions on design, fabrication of the tanks along with explanatory examples. Similarly, New Zealand is following NZSEE guidelines, which has been prepared based on the Priestley and other researcher’s work. These guidelines have nicely focused on the design part of the tank aided with the design charts and design examples. In this paper, a brief review is carried out mainly focused to design part of IS 803 in comparison with API 650 and NZSEE guidelines. Generalised discussions/commentary are made on design provisions including seismic design criteria. The purpose of the study is to compare the IS 803:1976 provisions with the other widely popular standards in view of identifying the current state of provisions of the code.