The BATFE has cashed my (Trust's) check for the Form 4 for my M-14's suppressor.
The clock is now ticking. Anecdotally, I'm looking at 6 to 8 weeks more processing time.
Seriously, however... how much of this processing could be replaced by a NICS check? The entire process is a hold over from the days when there was no such thing. The amount of manpower and resources, overhead, benefits costs, etc for the dozen BATFE agents that process these forms has to be more than the total revenue from the tax stamps. They could reduce costs, increase speed, improve overall adherence to the overall principles of the Second Amendment, and increase revenue by:
- Moving suppressors to the same restrictions as the host weapon they will be mated to.
- Pay the Tax Stamp costs at the FFL
- Do the background check via NICS (fine, Delay for the first purchase for extra checking)
- Cache the investigation results for the purchaser so the second purchase can be done on the spot
