40050 Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 126 / Thursday, June 29, 2000 / Rules and Regulations

the tariff-rate quota has chosen to use

export certificates.

§ 2014.2 Definitions.

Unless the context otherwise requires,

for the purpose of this part, the

following terms shall have the meanings

assigned as follows:

(a) Lamb meat means fresh, chilled, or

frozen lamb meat, provided for in

subheadings 0204.10.00, 0204.22.20,

0204.23.20, 0204.30.00, 0204.42.20, and

0204.43.20 of the HTS.

(b) In-quota lamb meat means lamb

meat that is entered under the in-quota

rate of duty.

(c) Participating country means any

country to which an allocation of a

particular quantity of lamb meat has

been assigned under Proclamation 7208

that USTR has determined is, and has

notified to the United States Customs

Service as being, eligible to use export

certificates.

(d) Enter or Entered means to enter or

withdraw from warehouse for

consumption.

(e) HTS means the Harmonized Tariff

schedule of the United States.

(f) USTR means the United States

Trade Representative or the designee of

the United States Trade Representative.

(g) Quota Year means the period

between July 22, 1999 and July 21, 2000,

inclusive, and such subsequent periods

as set forth in Presidential

Proclamations 7208 and 7214 during

which lamb meat is exported.

§ 2014.3 Export certificates.

(a) In-quota lamb meat may only be

entered as a product of a participating

country if the United States importer

makes a declaration to the United States

Customs Service, in the form and

manner determined by the United States

Customs Service, that a valid export

certificate is in effect with respect to

that lamb meat product.

(b) To be valid, an export certificate

shall:

(1) Be issued by or under the

supervision of the government of the

participating country;

(2) Specify the name of the exporter,

the product description and quantity,

and the quota year for which the export

certificate is in effect;

(3) Be distinct and uniquely

identifiable; and

(4) Be used for the quota year for

which it is in effect.

Kenneth P. Freiberg,

Deputy General Counsel, Office of the United

States Trade Representative.

[FR Doc. 00–16403 Filed 6–28–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 3910–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and

Firearms

27 CFR Parts 270, 275 and 295

[T.D. ATF–427; Ref: Notice No. 889]

RIN 1512–AB92

Extension of Package Use-Up Rule for

Roll-Your-Own Tobacco Manufacturers

and Importers (98R–370P)

AGENCY: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco

and Firearms (ATF), Department of the

Treasury.

ACTION: Temporary rule (Treasury

decision).

SUMMARY: In Treasury Decision ATF–

424, ATF issued temporary regulations

requiring manufacturers and importers

to mark packages of roll-your-own

tobacco as either ‘‘roll-your-own

tobacco’’ or ‘‘Tax Class J.’’ The

temporary regulations provided a useup period until April 1, 2000 for

manufacturers who used packages that

did not meet the marking requirements,

provided they used the packages before

January 1, 2000. In this temporary rule,

ATF is extending the date by which

manufacturers of roll-your-own tobacco

must comply with the package marking

requirements. ATF is also adding

regulations to provide the same

compliance date for importers of rollyour-own tobacco.

DATES: Effective date: June 29, 2000.

This temporary rule extends the

compliance date for both manufacturers

and importers until October 1, 2000.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Robert P. Ruhf, Regulations Division,

650 Massachusetts Avenue, NW.,

Washington, DC 20226; (202) 927–8210;

or alctob@atfhq.atf.treas.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

This temporary rule extends the date

stated in 27 CFR 270.216b(c) and

295.45c for manufacturers to comply

with the requirements that packages be

marked as ‘‘roll-your-own tobacco’’ or

‘‘Tax Class J’’ from April 1, 2000, to

October 1, 2000. This temporary rule

also adds a new section, 27 CFR

275.72c, that will allow importers to

have this same benefit. We are taking

this action as a result of comments from

the Pipe Tobacco Council, Washington,

DC. These comments were received in

response to the notice of proposed

rulemaking, Notice No. 889 (64 FR

71935), issued concurrently with the

temporary rule T.D. ATF–424 (64 FR

71929).

The Pipe Tobacco Council submitted

written comments concerning the

inability of manufacturers and importers

of roll-your-own tobacco to comply with

the April 1, 2000 deadline. The Pipe

Tobacco Council stated that they

represented manufacturers and

importers who account for more than 90

percent of the roll-your-own tobacco

sold in the United States. The Pipe

Tobacco Council stated that since there

is a long lead time for acquiring new

packaging of at least 5 to 6 months, most

manufacturers and importers would be

unable to meet the April 1, 2000

deadline for marking packages as ‘‘rollyour-own tobacco’’ or ‘‘Tax Class J’’. In

addition, they stated that although

manufacturers and importers could

place stickers on the packages with

‘‘roll-your-own tobacco’’ or ‘‘Tax Class

J’’ markings, the amount of hand labor

involved would make this very costly.

The Pipe Tobacco Council requested an

extension of the compliance date to

October 1, 2000, to allow all

manufacturers and importers a

reasonable time to comply with this

requirement to mark packages ‘‘rollyour-own tobacco’’ or ‘‘Tax Class J’’.

We have considered the jeopardy to

the revenue in extending the

compliance date with these package

markings and the costs that would be

incurred. Since the jeopardy to the

revenue is minimal and the costs would

be comparatively large for

manufacturers and importers to comply,

we have decided to extend the use-up

date from April 1, 2000, to October 1,

2000.

We note that the Pipe Tobacco

Council letter also requested that

‘‘cigarette tobacco,’’ be allowed as an

alternative marking designation on

packages of roll-your-own tobacco. We

are not addressing this issue at this

time. We will address this issue after we

have analyzed all comments received

during the 60-day comment period to

Notice No. 889 (64 FR 71935), which

was issued concurrently with the

temporary rule T.D. ATF–424 (64 FR

71929) published December 22, 1999.

Regulatory Flexibility Act

Because no notice of proposed

rulemaking is required for this

temporary rule, according to the

provisions of the Regulatory Flexibility

Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) do not apply.

Moreover, to give immediate guidance

to manufacturers and importers, this

temporary rule to extends the date they

have to comply with the requirement to

mark packages as ‘‘roll-your-own

tobacco’’ or ‘‘Tax Class J’’. The

extension of this date does not impose

any additional requirements on small

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 126 / Thursday, June 29, 2000 / Rules and Regulations 40051

businesses. Pursuant to 26 U.S.C.

7805(f), the temporary rulemaking (T.D.

ATF–424 (64 FR 71929)) has been

submitted to the Chief Counsel for

Advocacy of the Small Business

Administration for comment on its

impact on small business.

Executive Order 12866

It has been determined that this

temporary rule is not a significant

regulatory action as defined by

Executive Order 12866 because any

economic effects flow directly from the

underlying statute and not from this

rule. Therefore, a regulatory assessment

is not required.

Paperwork Reduction Act

This rule does not impose any

collection of information as defined in

the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995

(44 U.S.C. 3507(j)). Consequently, this

rule is being issued without prior notice

and public procedure pursuant to the

Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C.

553).

Administrative Procedure Act

Because this document merely

extends the date when manufacturers

and importers must comply with certain

marking requirements, and because

immediate guidance is necessary to

implement this extension, it is found to

be impracticable to issue this Treasury

decision with notice and public

procedure under 5 U.S.C. 553(b) or

subject to the effective date limitation

under 5 U.S.C. 553(d).

Drafting Information

The principal author of this document

is Robert P. Ruhf, of the Regulations

Division, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco

and Firearms.

List of Subjects

27 CFR Part 270

Administrative practice and

procedure, Authority delegations,

Cigarette papers and tubes, Claims,

Electronic fund transfer, Excise taxes,

Labeling, Packaging and containers,

Penalties, Reporting requirements,

Seizures and forfeitures, Surety bonds,

Tobacco products.

27 CFR Part 275

Administrative practice and

procedure, Authority delegations,

Cigarette papers and tubes, Claims,

Electronic fund transfer, Customs duties

and inspection, Excise taxes, Imports,

Labeling, Packaging and containers,

Penalties, Reporting requirements,

Seizures and forfeitures, Surety bonds,

Tobacco products, U.S. possessions,

Warehouses.

27 CFR Part 295

Administrative practice and

procedure, Authority delegations,

Cigarette papers and tubes, Excise taxes,

Labeling, Packaging and containers,

Tobacco products.

Authority and Issuance

Accordingly, title 27 of the Code of

Federal Regulations is amended as

follows:

PART 270—MANUFACTURE OF

TOBACCO PRODUCTS AND

CIGARETTE PAPERS AND TUBES

Paragraph 1. The authority citation

for part 270 continues to read as

follows:

Authority: 26 U.S.C. 5142, 5143, 5146,

5701, 5703–5705, 5711–5713, 5721–5723,

5731, 5741, 5751, 5753, 5761–5763, 6061,

6065, 6109, 6151, 6301, 6302, 6311, 6313,

6402, 6404, 6423, 6676, 6806, 7011, 7212,

7325, 7342, 7502, 7503, 7606, 7805, 31 U.S.C.

9301, 9303, 9304, 9306.

Par. 2. Section 270.216c is revised to

read as follows:

§ 270.216c Package use-up rule.

(a) A manufacturer must have used

such packaging for roll-your-own

tobacco before January 1, 2000.

(b) A manufacturer of roll-your-own

tobacco may continue to place roll-yourown tobacco in packages that do not

meet the marking requirements of

§§ 270.212 and 270.216b(b) until April

1, 2000.

(c) A manufacturer of roll-yourtobacco may continue to place roll-yourtobacco in packages that do not meet the

requirements of § 270.216b(a) until

October 1, 2000.

* * * * *

PART 275—IMPORTATION OF

TOBACCO PRODUCTS AND

CIGARETTE PAPERS AND TUBES

Par. 4. The authority citation for part

275 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 18 U.S.C. 2342; 26 U.S.C. 5701,

5703–5705, 5708, 5712, 5713, 5722, 5723,

5741, 5754, 5761–5763, 6301, 6302, 6313,

6404, 7101, 7212, 7342, 7606, 7652, 7805; 31

U.S.C. 9301, 9303, 9304, 9306.

Par. 5. A new section 275.72c is

added to read as follows:

§ 275.72c Package use-up rule.

(a) An importer must have used such

packaging for roll-your-own tobacco

before January 1, 2000.

(b) An importer of roll-your-own

tobacco may continue to place roll-yourown tobacco in packages that do not

meet the marking requirements of

§ 275.72b(b) until April 1, 2000.

(c) An importer of roll-your-own

tobacco may continue to place roll-yourown tobacco in packages that do not

meet the requirements of § 275.72b(a)

until October 1, 2000.

* * * * *

PART 295—REMOVAL OF TOBACCO

PRODUCTS AND CIGARETTE PAPERS

AND TUBES, WITHOUT PAYMENT FOR

USE OF THE UNITED STATES

Par. 6. The authority citation for part

295 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 26 U.S.C. 5703, 5704, 5705,

5723, 5741, 5751, 5762, 5763, 6313, 7212,

7342, 7606, 7805, 44 U.S.C. 3504(h).

Par. 7. Section 295.45c is revised to

read as follows:

§ 295.45c Package use-up rule.

(a) A manufacturer must have used

such packaging for roll-your-own

tobacco before January 1, 2000.

(b) A manufacturer of roll-your-own

tobacco, may continue to place rollyour-own tobacco in packages that do

not meet the marking requirements of

§§ 270.212 and 270.216b(b) until April

1, 2000.

(c) A manufacturer of roll-your-own

tobacco may continue to place roll-yourown tobacco in packages that do not

meet the marking requirements of

§ 270.216b(a) until October 1, 2000.

* * * * *

Signed: March 28, 2000.

Bradley A. Buckles,

Director.

Approved: April 26, 2000.

John P. Simpson,

Deputy Assistant Secretary (Regulatory, Tariff

and Trade Enforcement).

[FR Doc. 00–16203 Filed 6–28–00; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4810–31–U

DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR

Minerals Management Service

30 CFR Part 250

RIN 1010–AC55

Oil and Gas and Sulphur Operations in

the Outer Continental Shelf—Update of

Documents Incorporated by Reference,

Correction

AGENCY: Minerals Management Service

(MMS), Interior.

ACTION: Correction to final regulations.

SUMMARY: This document corrects the

final rule titled ‘‘Update of Documents

Incorporated by Reference,’’ which was

published Tuesday, January 4, 2000 (65