[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 170 (Wednesday, September 3, 2014)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 52198-52199]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-20925]
[[Page 52198]]
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DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau
27 CFR Part 73
[Docket No. TTB-2014-0004; T.D. TTB-119A; Re: T.D. TTB-119]
RIN 1513-AB97
Electronic Submission of Forms, the Finished Products Records for
Distilled Spirits Plants, and Closures on Certain Distilled Spirits
Products; Correction
AGENCY: Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, Treasury.
ACTION: Direct final rule; Treasury decision; Correction.
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SUMMARY: The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) recently
published a direct final rule amending its regulations regarding the
electronic submission of forms and other documents. Among other
provisions, those amendments added a new section providing that any
requirement in the TTB regulations to submit a form to another agency
may be met by the electronic submission of the form to the other
agency, as long as that agency provides for and authorizes the
electronic submission of the form. This final rule corrects those
recent amendments by amending the definition of the term ``form'' to
encompass all documents required by the TTB regulations to be submitted
to any other agency, as well as to TTB, and by inserting a cross
reference to that definition in the new section on the electronic
submission of forms to other agencies.
DATES: Effective September 3, 2014.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Michael D. Hoover, Regulations and
Rulings Division, Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, at 202-453-
1039, ext. 135.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Recent Amendments to 27 CFR Part 73
The electronic submission of forms to the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax
and Trade Bureau (TTB) is governed by the regulations in 27 CFR Part
73, Electronic Signatures; Electronic Submission of Forms. Part 73 sets
forth the conditions under which TTB allows current and prospective
industry members to submit forms to TTB or to other agencies
electronically, and to use electronic signatures or digital signatures
to sign those forms, in lieu of submitting paper documents with
handwritten signatures.
When first issued in 2003, part 73 did not address the electronic
submission to other agencies of forms that are required by the TTB
regulations to be submitted to those agencies (see T.D. TTB-5, 68 FR
58600, October 10, 2003). To address this issue, as well as several
other regulatory issues, TTB published T.D. TTB-119 in the Federal
Register on March 27, 2014, at 79 FR 17029. The regulatory amendments
made by T.D. TTB-119 became effective on April 28, 2014.
Among other regulatory changes, T.D. TTB-119 amended 27 CFR
73.1(a)(2) to state that part 73 sets forth the conditions under which
TTB allows the electronic submission of certain forms to other
agencies, where applicable, in addition to the conditions for the
electronic submission of certain forms to TTB. To accomplish this
purpose, T.D. TTB-119 added new subpart D, ``Electronic Filing of
Documents with Other Agencies,'' to part 73, which consisted of one new
section, Sec. 73.40. This new section provides that any requirement in
the TTB regulations to submit a form to another agency may be satisfied
by submitting the form electronically to that agency, as long as the
agency provides for and authorizes the electronic submission of that
form and the submitter satisfies any registration or related
requirement of that agency for this electronic submission.
A full discussion of the amendments made by T.D. TTB-119, including
TTB's authority to issue regulations under the Internal Revenue Code of
1986, as amended (26 U.S.C.), and the Federal Alcohol Administration
Act (27 U.S.C. 201 et seq.), may be found in the preamble to that final
rule.
Need for Correction of T.D. TTB-119
In part 73, the term ``form'' is defined in Sec. 73.3 to mean
``all documents required by 27 CFR, chapter I, to be submitted to
TTB.'' In T.D. TTB-119, when adding a provision allowing the electronic
submission of forms required by the TTB regulations to be submitted to
other agencies, TTB inadvertently neglected to amend this definition to
include documents required by 27 CFR chapter I to be submitted to other
agencies. Therefore, TTB is correcting the definition of the term
``form'' in Sec. 73.3 in order to clarify that, when used in part 73,
the term ``form'' includes all documents required by 27 CFR chapter I
to be submitted to TTB or to any other agency. In addition, TTB is
amending new Sec. 73.40 to add a cross reference to the amended
definition of ``form'' in Sec. 73.3 in order to clarify that the
provisions of Sec. 73.40 regarding the electronic submission of forms
to other agencies apply to all documents required by the TTB
regulations to be submitted to other agencies, not just official TTB
forms (documents issued by TTB that bear an Office of Management and
Budget control number).
These corrections are merely clarifying in nature and do not change
any existing regulatory or recordkeeping requirement.
Inapplicability of Prior Notice and Comment Procedures and Delayed
Effective Date Requirement
TTB is issuing this final rule without prior notice and opportunity
for public comment in accordance with sections 553(b)(A) and (B) of the
Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553(b)(A) and (B)). These
provisions authorize an agency to issue a rule without prior notice and
comment when it issues rules of agency procedure or when an agency for
good cause finds that prior notice and public comment procedures are
unnecessary. Because the amendments contained in this final rule merely
make technical corrections to existing procedural regulations in order
to clarify the application of those provisions to documents submitted
electronically to other agencies, and because these corrections do not
change TTB's interpretation of any regulation or the requirements of
any recordkeeping provision, TTB has determined that the 5 U.S.C.
553(b) prior notice and public comment requirement does not apply to
this final rule.
Because this final rule merely makes technical corrections to
existing regulations to clarify the application of those provisions to
documents submitted electronically to other agencies and does not
change TTB's interpretation of any regulation or the requirements of
any recordkeeping provision, TTB finds good cause under 5 U.S.C.
553(d)(3) to dispense with the effective date limitation in 5 U.S.C.
553(d).
Drafting Information
Michael D. Hoover of the Regulations and Rulings Division, Alcohol
and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau, drafted this document.
List of Subjects in 27 CFR Part 73
Electronic filing, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.
Amendments to the Regulations
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, TTB is correcting 27 CFR
chapter I, part 73 as follows:
[[Page 52199]]
PART 73--Electronic Signatures; Electronic Submission of Forms
0
1. The authority citation for part 73 continues to read as follows:
Authority: 26 U.S.C. 6011(f), 6061(b), 7502(c); 44 U.S.C. 3504
Note.
Sec. 73.3 [Amended]
0
2. In Sec. 73.3, the definition of the term ``Form(s)'' is amended by
adding the words ``or any other agency'' before the period at the end
of the definition.
Sec. 73.40 [Amended]
0
3. In Sec. 73.40, the first sentence is amended by adding the
parenthetical phrase ``(as that term is defined in Sec. 73.3)'' after
the words ``to submit a form''.
Dated: August 25, 2014.
John J. Manfreda,
Administrator.
[FR Doc. 2014-20925 Filed 9-2-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-31-P