Implementing PATRIOT Act Improvements: Contraband Cigarettes and Smokeless Tobacco

Document Headings Document headings vary by document type but may contain the following: the agency or agencies that issued and signed a document the number of the CFR title and the number of each part the document amends, proposes to amend, or is directly related to the agency docket number / agency internal file number the RIN which identifies each regulatory action listed in the Unified Agenda of Federal Regulatory and Deregulatory Actions See the Document Drafting Handbook for more details. Department of Justice Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives 27 CFR Part 646 [ATF No. 2006R-1F] RIN 1140-AA31 AGENCY: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, Department of Justice. ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (“ATF”) is amending Department of Justice (“Department”) regulations to implement certain provisions of the USA PATRIOT Improvement and Reauthorization Act of 2005 (“PATRIOT Improvement Act”) relating to trafficking in contraband cigarettes or smokeless tobacco. This act amended the Contraband Cigarette Trafficking Act (“CCTA”) by, among other things, reducing the threshold amount of cigarettes necessary to trigger jurisdiction under the CCTA from a quantity in excess of 60,000 to a quantity in excess of 10,000; extending the provisions of the CCTA to cover contraband smokeless tobacco; expanding record-keeping requirements; and imposing reporting requirements. DATES: This final rule is effective June 8, 2026. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Office of Regulatory Affairs, by email at ORA@atf.gov , by mail at Office of Regulatory Affairs; Enforcement Programs and Services; Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives; 99 New York Avenue NE; Washington, DC 20226, or by telephone at 202-648-7070 (this is not a toll-free number); ATTN: RIN 1140-AA31 . SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Background In 1978, the Contraband Cigarette Traffickin…