[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 27, Volume 1]
[Revised as of April 1, 2005]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 27CFR13.26]

[Page 269-270]
 
            TITLE 27--ALCOHOL, TOBACCO PRODUCTS AND FIREARMS
 
 CHAPTER I--ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE 
                                TREASURY
 
PART 13_LABELING PROCEEDINGS--Table of Contents
 
                         Subpart C_Applications
 
Sec. 13.26  Decision after appeal of qualification or denial.

    (a) Decision. After considering any written arguments or evidence 
presented by the applicant, the appropriate ATF officer must issue a 
written decision to the applicant. If the decision is that the qualified 
approval or denial should stand, a copy of the application, marked 
``appeal denied,'' must be returned to the applicant with an explanation 
of the decision and the specific laws or regulations relied upon in 
qualifying or denying the application. If the decision is that the 
certificate of label approval, certificate of exemption from label 
approval, or distinctive liquor bottle application should be approved 
without qualification, the applicant should resubmit ATF Form 5100.31 
and the certificate will be issued.
    (b) Time limits for decision. Within 90 days of receipt of an 
appeal, the appropriate ATF officer must notify the appellant whether 
the appeal has been granted or denied. If an applicant requests an 
informal conference as part of an appeal, as authorized in Sec. 13.71, 
the 90-day period will begin 10 days

[[Page 270]]

after the date of the conference to allow for consideration of any 
written arguments, facts or evidence submitted after the conference. The 
appropriate ATF officer may extend this period of time once by an 
additional 90 days if he or she finds that unusual circumstances require 
additional time to consider the issues presented by an appeal. If the 
appropriate ATF officer extends the period, he or she must notify the 
applicant by letter, briefly explaining the issues presented by the 
label. If the appellant receives no decision from the appropriate ATF 
officer within the time periods set forth in this paragraph, the 
appellant may appeal as provided in Sec. 13.27.
    (c) Judicial review. Prior to applying to the Federal courts for 
review, an applicant must first exhaust his or her administrative 
remedies, including the appeal rights set forth in this section and 
Sec. 13.27.