[ATF Ruling 95-1]

26 U.S.C. Section 4181 and 27 CFR 53.61(b): Parts and Accessories 

      A single barrel sold in combination with an over/under-trap
shotgun, is considered an extra part and not subject to Federal
excise tax.

      ATF Rul. 95-1

      The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) has been
asked whether a certain type of barrel is a nontaxable part or
accessory or is includible in the price for purposes of calculating
Federal excise tax liability pursuant to 26 U.S.C.  4181.

      An importer of firearms imports an over and under trap shotgun
and also imports a single barrel which is interchangeable with the
double barrels of the over and under trap shotgun. Customers may
purchase the over and under trap shotgun as a complete firearm or
may purchase the over and under trap shotgun along with the single
barrel. The single barrel may also be purchased by itself.

      Title 27, Code of Federal Regulations, Section 53.61(b)
provides that no tax is imposed by section 4181 of the Internal
Revenue Code of 1986 on the sale of parts or accessories of
firearms, pistols, revolvers, shells, and cartridges when sold
separately or when sold with a complete firearm. Thus, no tax
attaches to the sale of telescopic mounts, rubber recoil pads,
rifle sights, and similar parts for firearms when sold separately,
or when sold with complete firearms for use as spare parts or
accessories.

      When a firearm is sold with an extra part, such as a barrel,
ATF must determine which part is a taxable component part of the
firearm and which part is a nontaxable spare part. The most
important factor in making such determinations is whether the part
under consideration was originally designed and intended to be used
with the firearm.

   In the present case the over and under trap shotgun was
originally designed and intended to be used with the over and under
barrels. The single barrel is available to customers as an option,
so that they may use the shotgun as a single barrel or double
barrel shotgun for trap shooting. Since the shotgun was not
originally designed and intended as a single barrel shotgun, the
single barrel is a nontaxable spare part.

      Held: The single barrel when sold in combination with the over
and under trap shotgun is a spare part which may be excluded from
the sale price when calculating the Federal excise tax on the
firearm pursuant to section 4181.