Reports of Wholesale Prices for Large Cigars
Manufacturers and Importers of Tobacco
Products and Others Concerned:
Purpose. This circular is issued to provide
clarifying instructions concerning the submission of
wholesale price reports by manufacturers and importers
of large cigars.
Background. ATF recently issued Treasury Decision
ATF-40 which, in part, added regulation sections 27 CFR
270.202(b) and 275.183. These new regulation sections,
which became effective on February 1, 1977, require
manufacturers and importers of large cigars to submit
reports of new or changed wholesale prices. Since the
effective date of these regulations, ATF has received
many reports which either are not required or do not
contain all the necessary information.
Format of Reports. The required report is simply
a copy of each price announcement that, for his own
purposes, a manufacturer or importer issues within his
company or to the trade about establishment or changes
of wholesale prices for large cigars. The required
report is not something specially prepared for ATF.
A manufacturer or importer is not complying with
reporting requirements if he submits a specially pre-
pared report in lieu of a copy of the price announce-
ment or if he submits a copy of the "basic record of
wholesale prices" which manufacturers and some
importers are required to maintain at their place of
business. (See 27 CFR 270.187(a) and 275.181(a), and
Industry Circular 77-4 for explanations of "basic
record of wholesale prices." This record is not
intended to be used as a report.)
Submission of Reports.
1. A manufacturer or importer must submit a report if
he issues a price announcement to employees within
his company or to the trade about the establishment
or changes in wholesale prices. The report shall
consist of one copy of the price announcement.
2. Manufacturers and importers, who issue retail price
lists which do not show wholesale prices (e.g.,
price lists for sales made by mail to consumers),
are not required to submit copies of these retail
price lists. However, since the retail price lists
are pertinent to the determination of tax, a copy
is required to be kept at the business premises as
part of the tax records relating to large cigars.
3. Manufacturers and importers, who send internal
memoranda to employees within their own company,
are not required to submit these memoranda if they
are only tentative and discuss a possibility of,
or administrative procedure for, establishing or
changing wholesale prices.
Where to Submit Copies of Price Announcements.
When a manufacturer or importer is required to submit
a report of new or changed wholesale prices, the copy
must be sent to the Assistant Director (Regulatory
Enforcement), Attn: Industry Control Division, Bureau
of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, Washington, DC 20226.
Additional Copy for ATF Officers. Manufacturers
and importers are reminded that, in addition to the
copy of the price announcement submitted to the
Assistant Director (Regulatory Enforcement), they must
maintain a second copy at their business premises for
use by ATF officers.
Required Information. Each copy of a price
announcement, submitted to ATF or maintained for use by
ATF officers, must show either within the announcement
or by annotation (1) the date the price announcement
was issued; (2) the identity of the company submitting
the report; and (3), in the case of manufacturers, the
identity of the factory or factories from which
removals of the cigars covered by the announcement are
made. Factories may be identified either by permit
number or by city and state.
Only one copy of the price announcement need be
submitted. A covering letter is not necessary. How-
ever, the manufacturer or importer must note on the
copy maintained at his premises for use by ATF officers
the date on which he submitted a copy to the Assistant
Director (Regulatory Enforcement).
References. Section 27 CFR 270.202(b), relating to
manufacturers, is reproduced below as reference
material for this circular. (The provisions of section
27 CFR 275.183, relating to importers, have essentially
the same requirements.)
§ 270.202 Reports.
(a) * * *
(b) Report of wholesale prices for
large cigars. Every manufacturer of to-
bacco products who removes large cigars
from his factory, and who issues an-
nouncements such as those described in
this paragraph, shall make a report of
each establishment or change of whole-
sale price (suggested delivered price to
retailers) for large cigars. The report
shall consist of a copy of each general
announcement that the manufacturer
issues within his organization or to the
trade about establishment or changes of
wholesale prices. Only one copy of an
announcement need be submitted even
if it relates to cigars removed subject to
tax from more than one factory. If this
copy does not show the actual date when
the announcement was issued, or identify
the factory or factories from which re-
movals of the cigars covered by the an-
nouncement are made, then the copy
shall be annotated to show this infor-
mation. The factory or factories shall
be identified either by permit number (s)
or by name, city and state. If an intra-
organizational announcement involves
a forthcoming price change or new prod-
uct which at the time of issuance is
to remain confidential until a later date,
the manufacturer may include a state-
ment to this effect on the copy submitted.
The copy shall be submitted to the As-
sistant Director (Regulatory Enforce-
ment), Attn: Industry Control Division,
Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Fire-
arms, Washington, D.C. 20226, within
five business days after the day issued.
(Sec. 202, Pub. L. 85-859, 72 Stat. 1422 (26
U.S.C. 5722).)
Section 27 CFR 270.185, relating to record
retention requirements for manufacturers, is reproduced
below. (Record retention requirements for importers,
in section 27 CFR 275.22, are essentially the same,)
§ 270.185 Retention of records.
All records required to be kept under
this part, including copies of authoriza-
tions, claims, inventories, notices, re-
ports, returns, and schedules, shall be
retained by the manufacturer for three
years following the close of the calendar
year in which filed or made, or in the
case of an authorization, for three years
following the close of the calendar year
in which the operation under such
authorization is concluded. Such rec-
ords shall be kept in the factory or a
place convenient thereto, and shall be
made available for inspection by any
internal revenue officer upon his request.
(72 Stat. 1423; 26 U.S.C. 5741)
Inquiries. Inquiries concerning this circular
should refer to its number and be addressed to the
Assistant Director (Regulatory Enforcement), Bureau of
Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, Washington, DC 20226.
![Rex Davis](https://webarchive.library.unt.edu/web/20130225215240im_/http://www.ttb.gov/images/rex_davis.jpg)
Rex D. Davis
Director
GPO 917-613 |