[IRS Manual Supplement dated April 16, 1969, produced to Eric Larson by BATF first in 1998, then completely unredacted in 2000, in response to a FOIA demand for documents relating to the 1968 amnesty.] [IRS logo] MANUAL 76G-41 SUPPLEMENT Internal Revenue Service April 16, 1969 Amnesty Guidelines Section 1. Purpose The purpose of this Manual Supplement is to provide guidelines to Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms investigative personnel setting forth the action to be taken with respect to requests for the delinquent "amnesty" registration of National Firearms Act firearms. This Manual Supplement formalizes the understanding of post-amnesty procedures agreed upon at the January 13-15, 1969, conference of Assistant Regional Commissioners, Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms in Washington, D.C. Section 2. Background Title II of the Gun Control Act of 1968 provides that any person possessing an unregistered firearm as defined in Section 5845(a), Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended by Title II of the Gun Control Act of 1968, must register each such firearm with the Secretary of the Treasury or his delegate during the period November 2 through December 1 1968; that no information or evidence so acquired could be used as evidence against the registrant in any criminal proceeding with respect to a prior or concurrent violation of law. Section 3. Instruction .01 An unregistered N.F.A. firearm in the possession of any person after the amnesty period or subsequently acquired or made by him in violation of the National Firearms Act can no longer be registered. .02 Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms has received numerous inquiries from persons seeking to register N.F.A. firearms which for various stated reasons were not registered during the amnesty period. Such registration will not be made. In such instances, investigative personnel should endeavor to secure the voluntary abandonment of the firearm or firearms in question and formally document such abandonment through the use of Form 3807, Notice of Abandonment of Property, and related procedures. Where it is shown that the owner of the firearm was precluded from registration, such as military personnel assigned to overseas duty during the amnesty period, Form 4467, Registration of Certain Firearms During November 1968, together with a statement of the facts, may be forwarded to the National Office. .03 In the unlikely event the request to register a firearm is made in person by the owner and at that time has the firearm in his possession and who refuses to voluntarily abandon the firearm, the Special Investigator has no recourse but to seize the firearm and to retain it pending formal forfeiture proceedings. .04 In the event a request to register a firearm is made in person or otherwise and, if in person, the firearm is not in the owner's possession at that time, the Special Investigator should endeavor to secure the abandonment of the firearm as outlined in .02 above. In the event the owner declines to abandon the firearm voluntarily, he should be warned that continued retention of the firearm is in violation of law and that he is exposing himself to criminal prosecution. The refusal by the owner to voluntarily abandon an unregistered firearm should not signal the initiation of an investigation unless the type of firearm or firearms he allegedly possesses plus other pertinent facts known to the Special Investigator dictate that an investigation is warranted. Under no circumstances, however, should a Federal warrant be secured during such investigation without the prior knowledge and consent of the appropriate United States Attorney. .05 Individuals recently possessing unregistered National Firearms Act firearms are in violation of law. If the owner of an unregistered firearm declines to voluntarily abandon the firearm, the only legal means available to him to avoid possible legal prosecution at some future time is to destroy the firearm. The law makes no distinction in the treatment of National Firearms Act weapons. However, investigative diligence and concern with the abandonment of unregistered weapons coming to a Special Investigator's attention through one of the foregoing situations should be influenced by whether the weapon is of the type that would require a $200 transfer tax rather than a $5 transfer tax unless the character and reputation of the owner dictates otherwise. Section 4. Effect on Other Documents IRM 7830 is supplemented. s/ Harold A. Serr Harold A. Serr, Director Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms Division