Home.Freedom of Information Act

The Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), is a component of the Department of Treasury.  TTB adheres to the policy and disclosure regulations of the Department of the Treasury, (see), 31 CFR Part 1, to implement the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) uniformly and consistently and to provide maximum allowable disclosure of agency records upon request by any individual.  Requests are processed within the time limits defined by the FOIA.  Other than records that are fully disclosed, appeal rights are given to requesters seeking judicial review.

The Freedom of Information Act, 5 U.S.C. Sec. 552, enacted in 1966, requires federal agencies to give access to the public for non-public and non-published documents, after receiving a perfected written request.  An agency can exclude certain categories of records from disclosure pursuant to nine exemptions and three exclusions contained in the statute.  Read more. 

Read the History of the Freedom of Information Act and TTB.  See the development of this Act with its many amendments.

THE PRIVACY ACT (PA)

The Privacy Act, passed by Congress in 1974, establishes certain controls over what personal information is collected by the federal government and how it is used. This law guarantees three primary rights:

  1. The right to see records about oneself, subject to the Privacy Act's exemptions.
  2. The right to amend a nonexempt record if it is inaccurate, irrelevant, untimely, or incomplete.
  3. The right to sue the government for violations of the statute, such as permitting unauthorized individuals to read your records.

Read more.

Learn more about the Department of the Treasury's disclosure program on: