Industry Circular

Number: 69-26

Date: December 4, 1969

Department of the Treasury

Internal Revenue Service

Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms Division

Washington, D.C. 20224

To download a PDF file, you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader software installed on your system.  To download a free copy of Adobe Reader, click here.

MODIFICATION OF AMMUNITION RECORDKEEPING REQUIREMENTS

Firearms Licensees Under Title 18, United States Code, Chapter 44 and Others Concerned:

Purpose. The purpose of this circular is to announce a modification in the recordkeeping requirements for the sale or disposition of ammunition.

Background. The provisions of 18 U.S.C. 922(b)(5) as amended by Title I of the Gun Con- trol Act of 1968, make it unlawful for a licensee to dispose of a firearm or ammunition without making a record, kept pursuant to Section 923(g), showing the name, age and residence of the purchaser. In general, Section 923(g) requires all licensees to maintain records of "importa- tion, production, shipment, receipt, sale, or other disposition" of firearms and ammunition as the Secretary may by regulations prescribe. Section 178.125(c) of Title 26, Code of Federal Regulations, prescribes the record requirements for the sale of ammunition by requiring licensees to record the name, age, address, and method of identification of the purchaser and a description of the ammunition sold.

Modification of Ammunition Recordkeeping Requirements. It is no longer necessary for licensees to record sales of certain types of ammunition.

Legislation recently enacted by Congress provides that no person holding a Federal License under Chapter 44 of Title 18, United States Code shall be required to record the name, address or other information about the purchaser of shotgun ammunition, ammunition suitable for use only in rifles, or component parts for the aforesaid types of ammunition.

Change in Law Restricted to Recordkeeping and Only to Certain Types of Ammunition. No other provisions of Chapter 44 were affected by the legislation. Licensees are still required to keep records on sales of other types of ammunition, including ammunition presently inter- changeable between rifles and handguns, such as .22 caliber rimfire ammunition. Persons engaged in the business of selling ammunition are required to be licensed and must keep records of their acquisition of ammunition. Licensees must continue to meet their responsibility of not selling ammunition of any type to a person who they know or have reasonable cause to believe is a felon, under indictment for a crime punishable by imprisonment for a period exceeding one year, a fugitive from justice, an unlawful user of drugs, mentally incompetent or under 18 years of age.

Harold A. Serr, Director

Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Division

GPO : 1969 O - 108-117