D9Firearms - Upgrading to Manufacturer Status (Class 2 SOT & Class 7)
Recently after speaking with our local ATF agent about registering lower recievers as an SBR we found that we were skirting the lines between gunsmith and manufacturer. Generally, most of the LR’s & AR’s we provide are factory rifles that we’ve completely reworked or customized under our gunsmith status.
However, recently with the expansion into providing stripped recievers and parts to our clients and then performing gunsmith services to install the parts and put everything together, it is closely resembles what a manufacturer does. Although the recievers are all stamped and purchased from a factory, they are not leaving the factory as complete rifle therefore not having the federal excise tax charged.
At this point, when the word tax, federal, and firearms are all used in the same senctence it’s enough to make even the most manly man, such as me, wince. I for one don’t want to be on the receiving end of some pencil neck accountant knocking on my door with a swat team of heavily armed agents asking to see my taxes. Not my idea of a good time. Or worse, being the guest of some fine federal establishment located in Leveanworth, KS with a new bunkmate who I would not want as my lover.
Additionally, when speaking with our local agent, which by the way was very helpful and got me to the right people in licensing, he spent the time to clarify and guide me through the process. So we are now speaking with the people to get our current licenses, Class I & III, closed out and converted to Class 7 and SOT class 2 manufacturing licenses.
With this change we will be able to register new stripped lowers as SBR’s, or re-register an existing lower as an SBR, and custom build firearms to sell out right. When re-registering an existing lower for an individual, the individual will have to fill out the form 4 paper work and pay the $200 NFA fee. We will also be able to provide registration for any other weapon (AOW), this sounds really cool, but it can be as simple as allowing you to put a front post grip on an AR-15 pistol. For this a different fee applies.
However, for the time being, we will still be providing our custom upgrades, and our custom upper recievers. We will also be offering stripped lowers and the parts kits separately.
As always, we look forward to hearing from you and will be ready to outfit you with an SBR or AOW very soon, and be producing some highly accurate precision D9Firearm rifles. (Expect an update on suppressors very shortly, we’ve received our form 3 for a couple of them.)