Firearm Industry Excise Tax Filing, Payment Due Dates Delayed by TTB

Following the direction of the Trump Administration to ease tax burdens on American businesses during the COVID-19 virus pandemic, the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) is providing firearm and ammunition manufacturers and importers a 90-day delay from the required filing and payment dates of Pittman Robertson excise tax payments.

In distributed guidance, the TTB states that required excise tax filings and payments from firearm and ammunition businesses with an original filing date between March 1, 2020, and July 1, 2020, will be given an extra 90 days to do so without facing interest or penalties.

The directive states:

TTB’s Acting Administrator has determined that (1) any person with a due date for submitting a Federal excise tax payment, return, operational report, or claim on firearms and ammunition to TTB and (2) any person with a due date for submitting export documentation to TTB, in the period March 1, 2020, through July 1, 2020, is affected by COVID-19 for purposes of the relief described in this Industry Circular.

Additionally, the directive states:

The postponement of due dates applies to any tax payment with an original due date falling on or after March 1, 2020, through July 1, 2020. Interest and penalties will not accrue where such payments are made within 90 days of the usual due date. This Industry Circular does not postpone the payment of any other type of Federal tax.

The National Shooting Sports Foundation strongly recommends members fully review the TTB guidance at www.bit.ly/TTBGov to ensure your business remains in good standing and compliant during this critical time. If you have any questions about your business and how the TTB directive may affect you, please contact the National Review Center by phone at 877-882-3277.

 

Montana Rifle Company Closes Amid Financial Restructuring

Montana Rifle Company, makers of premium custom rifles for 25 years, has closed amid efforts to financially restructure.

Parent company Montana Outdoor Group, a private investor group, announced the immediate closure on its website. The site only includes the announcement, a phone number and email.

Here is the announcement:

Montana Outdoor Group, a private investor group, acquired Montana Rifle Company in early 2019, has announced its immediate closure pending fiscal restructuring.

“While sales of our popular calibers have been outstanding, production levels have not risen to a profitable lever to continue, without additional investments,” CEO Calvin Bontrager explained. “New equipment would be required to reach service (levels) demanded by our dealers and conservation groups.”

Montana Rifle has been producing custom-grade rifles for nearly 25 years and was awarded “NRA’s Gun of the Year” in 2016 and “NRA’s Gun of the Year” in 2018.

Montana Rifle has also produced limited editions for California Waterfowl, SCI, RMEF, and many other conservation organizations.

“With sales of the popular M1999 control feed actions nearly doubling in 2019, Montana Outdoor Group is actively searching for restructuring opportunities,” Bontrager said.

For updates on Montana Rifle Company, visit www.montanarifleco.com/developments.

Montana Outdoor Group’s acquisition of Montana Rifle Company was completed in July 2019, according to then CEO Ron Petty. He said then changes were made to update the facility and increase production, including new state-of-the-art CNC machines, and several new key personnel have made a positive impact on production and new products. Petty said its Montana Custom Barrel Division was “actively producing barrel blanks for key industry partners.”

Montana Rifle Company was founded by Brian Sipe and produced custom actions featuring the Mauser controlled feed extractor. The company produced actions and barreled actions in a wide range of calibers.

 

Safari Club International Will Return to Las Vegas

Safari Club International has announced that its 49th International Hunters’ Convention will return to Las Vegas in 2021.

The event, scheduled for February 3-6, will serve as the kickoff celebration of 50 years of SCI.

The exhibits, banquets and daytime activities will be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center. Evening events will be held at Caesar’s Forum, a new venue in the Caesar facilities that is currently under construction.

The headquarter hotel will be Harrah’s Casino Hotel. Other block hotels will include the LINQ Hotel and Casino, Flamingo Las Vegas, Bally’s Las Vegas, Planet Hollywood and Caesar’s Palace Las Vegas.

“We are pleased to be able to bring the SCI Convention back to Las Vegas in 2021,” said Laird Hamberlin, SCI CEO. “Our exhibitors and members all enjoy the convenience of getting in and out of Las Vegas and the many activities to enjoy there in addition to the Convention. Many people expressed a desire to move the Convention back to Las Vegas with dates in early February. We have worked hard to make it happen.”

 

Benelli Launches New Mobile-Friendly Website

Benelli recently launched its new mobile-friendly website for U.S. consumers that simplifies searching for the right firearm for each individual consumer’s needs.The website also hosts informative videos, stunning product and lifestyle imagery and enhanced product pages.

“Consumers’ time is valuable so one of our main goals with the new website was to streamline the process for consumers trying find what they want,” said Tim Joseph, Benelli’s VP of Brand Marketing. “With more and more people looking to their smartphones and tablets to obtain information, our other focus was to design it for optimal usage on mobile devices. Whether you are a diehard waterfowler, an upland hunter, target shooter, or interested in tactical/home defense, the perfect gun is only a few clicks away.”

The new website offers users the ability to sort through guns by filtering for specific features such as camo pattern, gauge or caliber, stock configurations, barrel length, hand dominance, sights, stock configuration, and barrel and receiver finish. Product offerings can also be easily found by choosing a particular hunting or shooting activity, including waterfowl hunting, tactical, turkey hunting, big-game hunting, upland hunting, sport shooting, left-handed offerings and more.

The new website can be found at www.benelliusa.com.

 

Inaugural Hunting Retailer Show Off to Promising Start

Despite worldwide concern over the corona virus and a deadly natural disaster that hit just a week before the show, the first Hunting Retailer Show in Nashville, March 9-10, 2020, was a success, with nearly 50 exhibitors. A tornado struck Nashville just a week before the show opened, but the host venue, the Gaylord Opryland Resorts & Convention Center, was undamaged. The show proceeded as scheduled while other shows worldwide were shutting down or postponing over fears about the coronavirus.