Wait times for manufacturing should drop fast. (Photo: NFA Lawyers)
Form 1 electronic submissions are back. After a long wait and even longer delays, the ATF is now receiving electronic submissions in addition to paper submissions, according to NFA Lawyers.
“After more than a two-year wait, the ATF has finally restored the use of the Form 1 for electronic submission” they report. “This development has raised the hopes of all manufacturing enthusiasts that some much-needed efficiency will start to improve processing times for tax stamps.”
Wait times for these submissions have raised to as high as 12 months or more. With e-filing, wait times should drop, and if Form 4 applications are any indication, wait times might be cut in half.
All of these delays have been in response to regulation 41F, which was enacted two years ago. This regulation affected Form 1 applications to manufacture NFA-regulated short-barreled rifles, short-barreled shotguns, suppressors and various other weapons.
“On July 13, 2016, the 41F regulation went into effect, which changed the application process for those applying for a tax stamp with a gun trust,” explains the NFA Lawyers. “Previously, if you had a gun trust, you could avoid having to supply the ATF with photos and fingerprints, as well as being able to avoid having the Chief Law Enforcement Officer sign off on your application.”
“[Regulation] 41F did away with the [law enforcement] signoff requirement for all types of tax stamp applicants – individual route and trust route – but made the application process for individuals and trusts the same,” they explain. “Everyone has to submit fingerprints and photos for a Form 1 or Form 4 tax stamp. Due to the problems inherent in scanning in fingerprint cards and the necessary infrastructure costs that would incur, up until now, all Form 1s and Form 4s have been required in paper form.”
One of the problems with paper forms is a lack of ink and paper. As many law enforcement agencies move to paperless records they simply lack the equipment to produce the previously required forms for ATF review.
The ATF required two “old-fashioned” fingerprint cards with each submission. As a response, many dealers started stocking the equipment for customers, but that still limits people’s options.
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The return of e-filing doesn’t remove the fingerprint requirement for individuals nor for trusts. However, it does promise faster turn-around times.
“We can all remember fondly a time when Form 1s and Form 4s were both eForms and approvals came back within 3 months,” said the NFA Lawyers. “It is unlikely that this new development will return us to those glory days, but it is a step in the right direction.”
“A truly momentous advance would be enabling fingerprint cards to be digitally scanned at the time they are taken,” they added. “Once that has been completed, we should start to see much better processing times for tax stamps.
Such a load of bull effluvia. Way back when (in the late 70s and early 80s, had class III stuff processed within a month (usually 3 weeks). This is back when lots more sales of over the counter full auto stuff and cans. My last suppressor took 15 months to go through. One I gave up on when the paperwork was returned after 10 months with a claim of, “You had the length wrong…it should have been 6.4″ and not 6.25” (even though the form to get it to the FFL showed 6.25″….
Sorry, there is no excuse for these absolutely incompetent federal employees, especially when all the info is already in the system. Suppressors shouldn’t be class III anyway (yeah, like that’ll change). Truly corrupt and pathetic system…and yes, all of it on purpose.
Why when computers were minimal and with less employees, were paperwork being processed in several weeks? There is no coincidence.
To answer Jay: The D’s were more interested in embarrassing the Prez and the R’s fell into the trap. Therefore nothing was done.
The commission of gun crimes where an SBR, suppressor or full-auto is used is virtually non existent…
The law and tax stamps are just silliness! Law abiding citizens are not the threat, criminals and our government are the threats to a free society.
Seriously, they just want our money! And to control everything we do, the government always has its hand in the jar! Pretty soon, we’ll be wrapped so tight, you’ll have to make a request and fill out a red card with all your info at home depot to buy a shovel! That shovel, could hurt someone!
A law that has never had any effect on a single crime and we are still dealing with it. What ever happened to the hearing protection direction these were going?
Forget about it.no hush act for 2-3years! Too many originalist Americans didn’t vote and Nancy got her gavel back.
As for sbrs/sbs,those were regulated because after regulating handguns (yes nfa 34 almost had hand guns on it)
They didn’t want people making rifles and shotguns into handgun to get around the tax.
It should join a lot of old crap in the dustbin of history but I don’t forsee this anytime soon