Little Jack
Master
Got this from one of my distributors today...
"Short Version
The government shutdown is now affecting the NFA branch and form 3 approvals have slowed to almost a stop. Expect little to no approvals for the duration of the shutdown.
Long Version
Good afternoon, with the partial government shutdown, the ATF is operating under a contingency plan for lower funding. I was originally told that this would have little to no effect on the NFA branch and the processing of our form 3’s. For the first week of the shutdown, this seemed to be true. We were receiving approvals at a normal pace. Since New Years, we have noticed that the approvals have slowed almost to a stop. I was hoping that this was simply due to the Holidays, examiners taking time off, etc. I just called the branch to inquire about our pending form 3’s and I was told that as the shutdown went on, the branch was deemed to be non-essential. They have not shut down completely, but are now working with a greatly reduced crew. There are a handful of people primarily working on form 5’s (government and LE transfers), but they are processing eform 3’s when they have time. I expect we will receive very little in the way of form 3 approvals for as long as the shutdown lasts. Form 4’s are currently not being worked on at all. When the shutdown does end, expect there to be delays as they work through the backlog of submitted form 3’s."
"Short Version
The government shutdown is now affecting the NFA branch and form 3 approvals have slowed to almost a stop. Expect little to no approvals for the duration of the shutdown.
Long Version
Good afternoon, with the partial government shutdown, the ATF is operating under a contingency plan for lower funding. I was originally told that this would have little to no effect on the NFA branch and the processing of our form 3’s. For the first week of the shutdown, this seemed to be true. We were receiving approvals at a normal pace. Since New Years, we have noticed that the approvals have slowed almost to a stop. I was hoping that this was simply due to the Holidays, examiners taking time off, etc. I just called the branch to inquire about our pending form 3’s and I was told that as the shutdown went on, the branch was deemed to be non-essential. They have not shut down completely, but are now working with a greatly reduced crew. There are a handful of people primarily working on form 5’s (government and LE transfers), but they are processing eform 3’s when they have time. I expect we will receive very little in the way of form 3 approvals for as long as the shutdown lasts. Form 4’s are currently not being worked on at all. When the shutdown does end, expect there to be delays as they work through the backlog of submitted form 3’s."