Comment on FR Doc # 2026-09164

RIN 1140-AA68 - Comments of B&T USA, LLC Docket No. ATF-2026-0100; ATF No. 2025R-16P; 91 FR 25159 (May 8, 2026) "Converting Temporary to Permanent Imports for Defense Articles" B&T USA, LLC is a federal firearms licensee and special (occupational) taxpayer holding Type 11 (Importer) and Type 10 (Manufacturer) licenses for Destructive Devices, Ammunition for Destructive Devices, and Armor Piercing Ammunition. B&T USA manufactures and imports NFA firearms for U.S. Government, law enforcement, and commercial customers. B&T USA SUPPORTS the proposed rule and urges ATF to finalize it. The full comment is attached as a PDF and supplies operating data responsive to each request at 91 FR 25162-63 that ATF stated it lacks. DATA SUMMARY - B&T USA receives approximately 6-10 temporary import shipments per year under the 22 CFR 123.4 exemption and 15 CFR 758.10 entry clearance, consistently over five years. Each contains multiple defense articles, sometimes 20-30. Roughly 75% of those articles would be candidates for conversion, and B&T USA expects about 10 conversion applications per year. The Form 6 response count is not a proxy for articles reached: one application may cover 20-30. - Export-and-re-import: 3-4 hours of compliance labor ($105-$140 at $35/hour) plus $3,000-$7,000 per shipment in freight, customs clearance, and air carrier charges. - Destruction: minimum 2 hours of labor plus transport and outsourced disposal fees. - Incremental burden: Form 6, part I, 5-10 minutes; Form 6A, 5 minutes. About $6-$9 per application whether it covers one article or thirty, roughly 3% of the burden of exporting and re-importing. Marking ($5/article) is a cost of permanent importation by any route, not of this process. - Total unrecovered value of a destroyed firearm is approximately $3,000, consistent with B&T USA's data in RIN 1140-AA80 (Docket ATF-2026-0298). - Salvage recovers only 10-15% of value. The article's purpose lies in its completed form, and replacing a receiver and remaining components can cost twice the original firearm's value, so destruction approaches a total loss even where salvage occurs. - Export is not a realistic alternative disposition. It reduces a loss rather than producing a profit, on the order of $2,000 per firearm. ATF should not reduce its benefits estimate on the theory that these articles would otherwise have been profitably exported. - B&T USA confirms each assertion in ATF's need statement. RECOMMENDATIONS 1. Part 479 registration. The rule amends parts 447 and 478 but not part 479. Marking is accommodated by Sec. 479.102(a)(6)'s cross-reference to Sec. 478.112; registration is not. Under ATF Ruling 2004-2 such a firearm is registered on a Form 2 bearing temporary-import restrictions that limit further disposition, and nothing provides a mechanism to correct that record on conversion. Absent one, an importer must submit a paper/NFAFax correction to the NFA Division, which in B&T USA's experience takes up to 90 days - a delay falling on exactly the transactions this rule is meant to ease. ATF should amend part 479 and permit the Form 6, part I, and Form 6A to accompany the subsequent Form 3 or Form 5. 2. The 15-day period in Sec. 478.112(e) should run from the filing of the Form 6A, not from ATF approval. eForms approvals are not always delivered correctly and cannot go to an organizational address, so the period can run before the company knows. ATF should also provide that conversion occurs upon Form 6A filing. 3. Sec. 447.42(c) should state that the Form 6, part I, describes the article in its present condition, not its condition at temporary importation - a firearm may be damaged or stripped and presented for conversion as a parts kit. 4. ATF's public description of this rulemaking states that conversion is available when an authorization "has expired or is otherwise no longer operative." The proposed text requires a valid authorization. The text is correct; the public description should be corrected. 5. Drafting corrections, including Sec. 478.112(e) ("Sec. 479.102 of this part" - it is in part 479), Sec. 478.112(b)(2)(ii) ("the importer-of the reason"), and Sec. 478.112(e)(2). Suggested corrected text is in the attached comment. 6. ATF should confirm Sec. 447.44 denial and review procedures apply to conversion applications. 7. The preamble describes an amendment to Sec. 478.11 that the regulatory text does not contain, while a separate NPRM also amends that section. B&T USA does not suggest combining the rulemakings or delaying either; ATF should supply the amendment or correct the preamble and identify the related NPRM. 8. ATF should state severability specifically and make the rule effective on publication under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(1). B&T USA endorses ATF's rejection of the guidance alternative and agrees the rule imposes total costs below zero. Ruling 2004-2 has governed this area since 2004; a legislative rule gives industry a stable premise for capital commitments.