The following rules apply to the employees of the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau and are in addition to §§3101.101 through 3101.104.

(a) Prohibited financial interests. Except as provided in this section, no employee of TTB, or spouse or minor child of a TTB employee, shall have, directly or indirectly, any financial interest, including compensated employment, in the alcohol, tobacco, firearms or explosives industries. The term financial interest is defined in §2635.403(c) of this title.

(b) Waiver. An agency designee, with the advice and legal clearance of the DAEO or Office of the Chief Counsel, may grant a written waiver of the prohibition in paragraph (a) of this section on a determination that the financial interest is not prohibited by 26 U.S.C. 7214(b) and that, in the mind of a reasonable person with knowledge of the particular circumstances, the financial interest will not create an appearance of misuse of position or loss of impartiality, or call into question the impartiality and objectivity with which TTB's programs are administered. A waiver under this paragraph may require appropriate conditions, such as execution of a written disqualification.

[79 FR 65877, Nov. 6, 2014]