NEWTOWN, Conn – -(Ammoland.com)- The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has published the final lost and stolen in transit rule in the Federal Register.
National Shooting Sports Foundation has actively opposed the rule since a version was first published in 2000. The rule becomes effective 30 days from today, on Feb. 11 2016.
Apart from ATF’s lack of statutory authority to impose the rule, the major problem with this rule is that it requires FFLs to report as lost or stolen in transit firearms that have already left their inventory.
Once firearms have been sold FOB, shipped and recorded as a disposition, this rule essentially requires that they still be considered part of the shipping FFL’s inventory for purposes of timely reporting to ATF in the exceeding rare case when they are lost or stolen while in transit.
Rather than putting the onus on the receiving FFL, who would best know whether the firearms they paid for and are expecting have arrived, and continuing the effective long-standing voluntary reporting program, ATF chose to publish the final rule: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2016-01-12/pdf/2016-00112.pdf
ATF Publishes Final Lost and Stolen in Transit Rule in the Federal Register
About NSSF The National Shooting Sports Foundation is the trade association for the firearms industry. Its mission is to promote, protect and preserve hunting and the shooting sports. Formed in 1961, NSSF has a membership of more than 6,000 manufacturers, distributors, firearms retailers, shooting ranges, sportsmen’s organizations and publishers. For more information, log on to www.nssf.org.