(a) Basis for action. Whenever the Director has reason to believe that a licensee has willfully violated any provision of the Act or this part, a notice of revocation of the license, ATF Form 4500, may be issued. In addition, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. 922(t)(5) and 18 U.S.C. 924(p), a notice of revocation, suspension, or imposition of a civil fine may be issued on ATF Form 4500 whenever the Director has reason to believe that a licensee has knowingly transferred a firearm to an unlicensed person and knowingly failed to comply with the requirements of 18 U.S.C. 922(t)(1) with respect to the transfer and, at the time that the transferee most recently proposed the transfer, the national instant criminal background check system was operating and information was available to the system demonstrating that the transferee's receipt of a firearm would violate 18 U.S.C. 922(g) or 922(n) or State law; or that a licensee has violated 18 U.S.C. 922(z)(1) by selling, delivering, or transferring any handgun to any person other than a licensee, unless the transferee was provided with a secure gun storage or safety device for that handgun.

(b) Issuance of notice. The notice shall set forth the matters of fact constituting the violations specified, dates, places, and the sections of law and regulations violated. The Director shall afford the licensee 15 days from the date of receipt of the notice in which to request a hearing prior to suspension or revocation of the license, or imposition of a civil fine. If the licensee does not file a timely request for a hearing, the Director shall issue a final notice of suspension or revocation and/or imposition of a civil fine on ATF Form 5300.13, as provided in §478.74.

[T.D. ATF-415, 63 FR 58278, Oct. 29, 1998, as amended by ATF-27P, 74 FR 1878, Jan. 14, 2009; ATF 2013R-9F, 79 FR 46692, Aug. 11, 2014; ATF 2008R-15P, 81 FR 32235, May 23, 2016]