[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: 27CFR53.24]

[Page 983-984]
 
            TITLE 27--ALCOHOL, TOBACCO PRODUCTS AND FIREARMS
 
 CHAPTER I--ALCOHOL AND TOBACCO TAX AND TRADE BUREAU, DEPARTMENT OF THE 
                                TREASURY
 
PART 53_MANUFACTURERS EXCISE TAXES_FIREARMS AND AMMUNITION--Table of 
Contents
 
          Subpart C_Administrative and Miscellaneous Provisions
 
Sec. 53.24  Records.

    (a) In general--(1) Form of records. The records required by the 
regulations in this part shall be kept accurately, but no particular 
form is required for keeping the records. Such forms and systems of 
accounting shall be used as will enable appropriate ATF officers to 
ascertain whether liability for tax is incurred and, if so, the amount 
thereof.
    (2) [Reserved]
    (b) Copies of returns, schedules, and statements. Every person who 
is required, by the regulations in this part or by instructions 
applicable to any form prescribed thereunder, to keep any copy of any 
return, schedule, statement, or other document, shall keep such copy as 
a part of the records.
    (c) Records of claimants. Any person who, pursuant to the 
regulations in this part, claims a refund, credit, or abatement, shall 
keep a complete and detailed record with respect to the tax, interest, 
addition to the tax, additional amount, or assessable penalty to which 
the claim relates. Such record shall include any records required of the 
claimant by paragraph (b) of this section and subpart L of this part.
    (d) Place and period for keeping records. (1) All records required 
by this part shall be prepared and kept by the person required to keep 
them, at one or more convenient and safe locations accessible to 
appropriate ATF officers, and shall at all times be immediately 
available for inspection by such officers.

[[Page 984]]

    (2) Except as otherwise provided in this subparagraph, every person 
required by the regulations in this part to keep records in respect of a 
tax shall maintain such records for at least three years after the due 
date of such tax for the return period to which the records relate, or 
the date such tax is paid, whichever is later. The records of claimants 
required by paragraph (c) of this section shall be maintained for a 
period of at least three years after the date the claim is filed.
    (e) Reproduction of original records. (1) General books of account, 
such as cash books, journals, voucher registers, ledgers, etc., shall be 
maintained and preserved in their original form. However, reproductions 
of supporting records of details, such as invoices, vouchers, production 
reports, sales records, certificates, proofs of exportation, etc., may 
be kept in lieu of the original records. Any process may be used which 
accurately and timely reproduces the original record, and which forms a 
durable medium for reproducing and preserving the original record.
    (2) Copies of records treated as original records. Whenever records 
are reproduced under this section, the reproduced records shall be 
preserved in conveniently accessible files, and provisions shall be made 
for examining, viewing, and using the reproduced records the same as if 
they were the original record. Such reproduced records shall be treated 
and considered for all purposes as though they were the original record. 
All provisions of law and regulations applicable to the original record 
are applicable to the reproduced record.

[T.D. ATF-365, 60 FR 33670, June 28, 1995, as amended by T.D. ATF-447, 
66 FR 19088, Apr. 13, 2001]

Subparts D-F [Reserved]