Federal Register: September 24, 2009 (Volume 74, Number 184)
DOCID: fr24se09-16 FR Doc E9-23173
DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau
CFR Citation: 27 CFR Parts 40, 41, and 45
Docket ID: [Docket No. TTB-2009-0002; Notice No. 99; Re: T.D. TTB-81, T.D. TTB-78, Notice No. 95]
RIN ID: RIN 1513-AB75
NOTICE: PROPOSED RULES
DOCID: fr24se09-16
DOCUMENT ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking; cross-reference to temporary rule.
SUBJECT CATEGORY:
Extension of Package Use-Up Rule for Roll-Your-Own Tobacco and Pipe Tobacco (2009R-368P)
DATES: Comments must be received on or before November 23, 2009.
DOCUMENT SUMMARY:
Elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau is issuing a temporary rule to extend the useup period and delay the application of the new pipe tobacco and rollyourown tobacco classification rule adopted on June 22, 2009, in response to certain changes made to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 by the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009. That temporary rule also corrects two minor errors in the previously published regulatory texts. The text of the regulations in the temporary rule published in the Rules and Regulations section of this issue of the Federal Register serves as the text of the proposed regulations.
SUMMARY:
Extension of Package Use-Up Rule for Roll-Your-Own Tobacco and Pipe Tobacco (2009R–368P)
SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION
Background
On June 22, 2009, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) published a temporary rule in the Federal Register (T.D. TTB78, 74 FR 29401) to implement certain changes made to the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 by the Children's Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act of 2009 (the Act). The regulatory changes made by the temporary rule went into effect on June 22, 2009. The temporary rule included a new classification rule reflecting the expansion of the statutory definition of rollyourown tobacco to include cigar wrapper and filler. The temporary rule also outlined new notice requirements for the packaging and labeling of pipe tobacco and rollyourown tobacco to distinguish these two products from each other for tax purposes. As such, the temporary rule included two useup rules allowing manufacturers and importers of pipe tobacco and rollyourown tobacco to use their existing packages until August 1, 2009.
In the June 22, 2009, issue of the Federal Register, TTB also published a notice of proposed rulemaking, Notice No. 95 (74 FR 29433), inviting comments on the temporary regulations contained in T.D. TTB 78, with comments due on or before August 21, 2009. In response to Notice No. 95, we received two comments raising concerns regarding the pipe tobacco classification and notice provisions of T.D. TTB78, which we believe warrant immediate consideration. Both commenters requested a delay in the implementation of the pipe tobacco classification and noticerelated requirements, asserting that the useup periods in the temporary regulations (that is, to August 1, 2009) gave insufficient time for industry members to comply with the new requirements. New Temporary Rule and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking
After carefully considering these two comments, TTB believes it
should delay the application of the new classification rule regarding
pipe tobacco and rollyourown tobacco, and extend the two useup rules
for existing packaging. As a result, we are publishing a new temporary
rule, T.D. TTB81, in the Rules and Regulations section of this issue
of the Federal Register. These revised temporary regulations involve
amendments to parts 40, 41, and 45 of the TTB regulations (27 CFR parts
40, 41, and 45). The text of the revised temporary regulations serves
as the text of these proposed regulations, and the preamble to the
revised temporary regulations explains these proposed regulations in
detail. The new temporary rule also corrects two minor errors in the previously published regulatory texts.
Public Participation
Comments Invited
We invite comments from interested members of the public on this proposed rulemaking.
Submitting Comments
You may submit comments on this notice by using one of the following three methods:
Please submit your comments by the closing date shown above in this notice. Your comments must reference Notice No. 99 and include your name and mailing address. Your comments also must be made in English, be legible, and be written in language acceptable for public disclosure. We do not acknowledge receipt of comments, and we consider all comments as originals.
If you are commenting on behalf of an association, business, or other entity, your comment must include the entity's name as well as your name and position title. If you comment via Regulations.gov, please include the entity's name in the ``Organization'' blank of the comment form. If you comment via postal mail, please submit your entity's comment on letterhead.
You may also write to the Administrator before the comment closing date to ask for a public hearing. The Administrator reserves the right to determine whether to hold a public hearing.
Confidentiality
All submitted comments and attachments are part of the public record and subject to disclosure. Do not enclose any material in your comments that you consider to be confidential or that is inappropriate for public disclosure.
Public Disclosure
On the Federal erulemaking portal, Regulations.gov, we will post, and the public may view, copies of this notice, the related temporary rule, selected supporting materials, and any electronic or mailed comments we receive about this proposal. A direct link to the Regulations.gov docket containing this notice and the posted comments received on it is available on the TTB Web site at http://www.ttb.gov/ tobacco/tobaccorulemaking.shtml under Notice No. 99. You may also reach the docket containing this notice and the posted comments received on it through the Regulations.gov search page at http:// www.regulations.gov.
All posted comments will display the commenter's name, organization (if any), city, and State, and, in the case of mailed comments, all address information, including email addresses. We may omit voluminous attachments or material that we consider unsuitable for posting.
You and other members of the public may view copies of this notice,
the related temporary rule, other supporting materials, and any
electronic or mailed comments we receive about this proposal by
appointment at the TTB Information Resource Center, 1310 G Street, NW.,
Washington, DC 20220. You may also obtain copies at 20 cents per 8.5 x
11inch page. Contact our information specialist at the above address
or by telephone at 2024532270 to schedule an appointment or to request copies of comments or other materials.
[[Page 48689]]
Regulatory Flexibility Act, Paperwork Reduction Act, and Executive Order 12866
Since the regulatory text proposed in this notice of proposed rulemaking is identical to that contained in the companion temporary rule published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register, the analyses contained in the preamble of the temporary rule concerning the Regulatory Flexibility Act, the Paperwork Reduction Act, and Executive Order 12866 also apply to this proposed rule.
Drafting Information
Michael Hoover of the Regulations and Rulings Division, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, drafted this document.
List of Subjects
27 CFR Part 40
Cigars and cigarettes, Claims, Electronic funds transfers, Excise taxes, Imports, Labeling, Packaging and containers, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Surety bonds, Tobacco.
27 CFR Part 41
Cigars and cigarettes, Claims, Customs duties and inspection, Electronic funds transfers, Excise taxes, Imports, Labeling, Packaging and containers, Puerto Rico, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Surety bonds, Tobacco, Virgin Islands, Warehouses.
27 CFR Part 45
Administrative practice and procedure, Authority delegations (Government agencies), Cigars and cigarettes, Excise taxes, Labeling, Packaging and containers, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Tobacco
Proposed Amendments to the Regulations
For the reasons discussed in the preamble, TTB proposes to amend 27 CFR, chapter I, parts 40, 41, and 45 as follows:
PART 40MANUFACTURE OF TOBACCO PRODUCTS AND CIGARETTE PAPERS AND TUBES, AND PROCESSED TOBACCO
1. The authority citation for part 40 is revised to read as follows:
Authority: 26 U.S.C. 5142, 5143, 5146, 57015705, 57115713, 57215723, 5731, 5741, 5751, 5753, 57615763, 6061, 6065, 6109, 6151, 6301, 6302, 6311, 6313, 6402, 6404, 6423, 6676, 6806, 7011, 7212, 7325, 7342, 7502, 7503, 7606, 7805; 31 U.S.C. 9301, 9303, 9304, 9306.
2. [The proposed amendatory instructions and the proposed amended
regulatory text for part 40 are the same as the amendatory instructions
and the amended regulatory text set forth in the temporary rule on this
subject published in the Rules and Regulations section of this issue of the Federal Register.]
PART 41IMPORTATION OF TOBACCO PRODUCTS AND CIGARETTE PAPERS AND TUBES, AND PROCESSED TOBACCO
3. The authority citation for part 41 is revised to read as follows:
Authority: 26 U.S.C. 57015705, 5708, 5712, 5713, 57215723, 5741, 5754, 57615763, 6301, 6302, 6313, 6402, 6404, 7101, 7212, 7342, 7606, 7651, 7652, 7805; 31 U.S.C. 9301, 9303, 9304, 9306.
4. [The proposed amendatory instructions and the proposed amended
regulatory text for part 41 are the same as the amendatory instructions
and the amended regulatory text set forth in the temporary rule on this
subject published in the Rules and Regulations section of this issue of the Federal Register.]
PART 45REMOVAL OF TOBACCO PRODUCTS AND CIGARETTE PAPERS AND
TUBES, WITHOUT PAYMENT OF TAX, FOR USE OF THE UNITED STATES
5. The authority citation for part 45 is revised to read as follows:
Authority: 26 U.S.C. 57025705, 5723, 5741, 5751, 5762, 5763, 6313, 7212, 7342, 7606, 7805; 44 U.S.C. 3504(h).
6. [The proposed amendatory instructions and the proposed amended
regulatory text for part 45 are the same as the amendatory instructions
and the amended regulatory text set forth in the temporary rule on this
subject published in the Rules and Regulations section of this issue of the Federal Register.]
Signed: August 23, 2009.
John J. Manfreda,
Administrator.
Approved: September 4, 2009.
Timothy E. Skud,
Deputy Assistant Secretary. (Tax, Trade, and Tariff Policy). [FR Doc. E923173 Filed 92309; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 481031P
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT
Amy Greenberg, Regulations and Rulings Division, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (2024532099).