TTB Extends Tobacco Importer Permits to Five Years; Current Holders Must Reapply
The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau extended the duration of tobacco and processed tobacco import permits from three to five years, as part of a reissue of parts of its tobacco regulations. All current holders of three-year permits must reapply for the new five-year permits, TTB said. The “temporary” final rule, which is effective Aug. 26, incorporates two 1999 TTB rules on tobacco marking and labeling and importer permits, as well as subsequent amendments, and makes “technical changes” throughout.
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The temporary rule also clarifies the term “sale price” in TTB’s tobacco regulations, and includes under the definition of “manufacturer of tobacco products” some persons that provide machines to make tobacco products to consumers, pursuant to the 2012 Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act. TTB asked for comments on the temporary rule in a concurrent proposed rule (here). Comments are due by Aug. 26.
Importer Permit Duration Extended; All Importers Must Reapply
The “temporary” final rule extends the duration of importer permits from three years to five. According to TTB, the extension will reduce the burden on the tobacco industry, while allowing the agency to be more efficient. The longer time period will only apply to tobacco and processed tobacco import permits issued after the Aug. 26 effective date of the rule.
Holders of permits that pre-date the Aug. 26 effective date of TTB’s rule must apply and receive a new five-year permit to stay in business, TTB said. The application for the new permit must be filed within 150 days of the rule’s effective date, by about Jan. 23, 2014, or within 30 days of the expiration date shown on the permit form, whichever is later. Incomplete applications for five-year permits must be corrected within one year of a TTB request for more information, TTB said.
Also, permit holders with renewals pending on the effective date of the “temporary” final rule must reapply for a permit within 150 days of the rule’s effective date. “TTB will work with such applicants to obtain any supplementary documentation and information needed to complete the application for a new permit,” it said.
According to TTB, the reapplication requirement will allow it to “purge its record of inactive permits and ensure TTB has complete, accurate, and up-to-date information on entities that hold five-year permits.” Applications for original permits, as opposed to renewals, received by TTB before the Aug. 26 effective date of this rule and still pending by that date, will be treated as applications for five-year permits received after Aug. 26, TTB said.