So What Does the ATF Think of the NFRTR (NFA Registry)?

[barnbwt]

Interesting survey results were recovered via lawsuit procedure, today...

These questions concern the Inventory Reports of NFA items that FFLs keep synchronized (ha!) with the ATF, so the NFA registries are kept accurate (ha ha!) and up to date (LOL!) as items are created & destroyed.

"Q6 How often would you say there is a discrepancy between the Inventory Report and the FFL inventory?"
+55% say at least "most of the time"

"Q7 How often is the discrepancy due to an error in the NFRTR?"
+60% say at least "most of the time"

"Q8 How often is the discrepancy due to an error by the FFL?"
+40% say "never"
+21% say "most of the time"
0% said "always"

"Q9 Process - What do you do when there is a discrepancy between the NFRTR inventory report and the FFL inventory? Please describe the process and the actions you take."

"A LIST OF NFA WEAPONS IN POSSESION OF THE DEALER IS SENT TO NFA. ANY DISCREPENCIES ARE NOTED ON THE LIST WITH DOCUMENTATION REGARDING THE TRANSFER OR AQUISITION. ALL TOO MANY TIMES WHEN YOU RETURN TO THAT DEALER THE FOLLOWING YEAR THE DISCREPENCIES PREVIOUSLY NOTED HAVE NOT BEEN ADDED OR REMOVED FROM THE LIST BY THE NFA BRANCH. SOME OF THESE DISCREPENCIES GO ON FOR MORE THAN A YEAR OR IN SOME CASES TWO YEARS. I HAVE YET TO RECIEVE A LIST FROM THE NFA BRANCH THAT MATCHES WHAT THE LICENSEE HAS IN INVENTORY."

And here we tax-stampers thought we had it rough with wait times. The NFRTR-herders are apparently waiting multiple years to get identified errors corrected in their own systems. Systems used to determine enforcement action against FFLs, as well as the individuals who buy from them.

It is worth keeping in mind that the NFRTR/NRA Registry is considered gospel when it comes to settling disputes in court, since presentation of an (easily forged) tax stamp alone has never been enough to avoid conviction or prosecution (nor is a tax-payer obligated to prove their innocence with one). The ATF has testified, under oath, that the (closed) MG registry contains a different (usually higher) number of items each time it is asked, and has sworn it is both entirely correct and riddled with errors on separate occasions. Normally, this kind of stubborn, entrenched, systemic incompetence is grounds for wholesale deconstruction or even investigation for official corruption.

Hopefully this spurs some more interest in the HPA, to get at least silencers away from this kind of incompetence/corruption, so fewer people will be harassed or prosecuted under mistaken/false pretenses. The comments suggest the NFA area of regulation is a complete joke, even within other areas of the Bureau itself; inaccurate, incompetent, and most of all, slow.

https://www.congress.gov/resources/display/content/Most-Viewed+Bills

http://www.ar15.com/forums/t_1_5/20...dit---Never-been-released-before-.html&page=1

TCB

 

[barnbwt]

Odd, I thought there'd be more interest in the legitimacy of the database used to justify countless prosecutions and the 9-month wait time of NFA forms being soundly undermined by the ATF's own agents...

TLDR; lots of convictions for NFA violations will be challenged, because this database was the primary evidence tax was not paid on the NFA items

TLDR; this revelation of NFRTR incompetence opens the door to a court ruling demanding an amnesty period to fix the books, or even voiding the licensing scheme of the NFA entirely

TCB

 

[stoky]

lots of convictions for NFA violations will be challenged

 

[barnbwt]

To be fair to the ATF, the guys they bother to prosecute are generally dirtbags, and the NFA stuff is only one aspect of the dirt-baggery. But the fact that courts have been obediently deferring to the ATF's assertions of database integrity for so long, even while it appears a majority of agents are routinely exposed to numerous inaccuracies that go unaddressed for years... ...yeah, this absolutely stinks to high heaven. I won't go so far as to say it's a development to rival the "DNA Revolution" that exonerated so many convicts, but it could be if the ATF doesn't have other very good evidence backing up its accusations.

If, for example, you have an unregistered 'street sweeper' shotgun, or one of the "semi-auto-machinegun" open bolt MACs, the only evidence of innocence or guilt are;
-A receipt from your registration with the ATF; wild guess that this is stationary that is not particularly secure against forgery, which is why the ATF also relies on
-The presence or absence of the item's serial number in the NFRTR database

Considering that the receipt could barely be considered a tax record, and one from decades ago no less (and likely not from the original owner), it's not unreasonable that the accused would not be able to produce the form. Further, the fifth amendment does not require them to. That just leaves us with the database, which we now hear is a moth-eaten old sweater full of holes and spelling errors...and reasonable doubt.

Favorite comment so far:
"...stop operating like a third world Department of Motor Vehicles office." Who says suits don't have a sense of humor?

TCB