of

1901, at the beginning of the day, -he- owned, held, and had on hand in the (c), No.

street, in the

county and State aforesaid, all of the 006, snuff, and cigars, set forth and described in the foregoing inventory, all of which were in the original and unbroken packages as they were put up by the manufacturers, nd were labeled, marked, branded, and stamped in accordance with law and the regulations of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue, and stamps thereon duly canceled. Deponent further says that the quantity and description of the goods on hand, as shown by the foregoing inventory, were ascertained on July 1, 1901, in the presence of and and that each and all of the packages enumerated and embraced in the said inventory were original and unbroken factory packages, in the exact condition as to their contents as when they were put up by the manufacturer, nothing having been added to or taken therefrom since they were packed and stamped at the place of manufacture.

and

on tobacco, snuff, and cigars specified in said inventory to the amount of (d) -
dollars
-), under the provisions of the act of March 2, 1901.

of

at No.

years, by occupation a

street, in the

being duly sworn according to law, severally depose and say, each for himself, that he was present at the of and State and county aforesaid, on the 1st day of July, 1901, between the hours of and -, and witnessed on said date the taking of the foregoing inventory f the stock of tobacco, snuff, and cigars; that he personally examined and counted all the packages mentioned in the foregoing inventory, and that the quantities and description of the goods on hand at such time, as stated in said inventory, are truly and correctly stated therein, and all of said tobacco, snuff, and cigars were in the original and unbroken stamped factory packages at the place above specified.

And deponents severally further depose and say, each for himself, that each and every cus of said packages were carefully examined by him at the time of the taking of said inventory, and that the contents of all packages of tobacco, snuff, or cigars, which near to have been opened, were examined and found to be the entire unbroken original contents indicated by the labels, marks, brands, and stamps upon the packages. And deponents severally further depose and say, each for himself, that he has read or heard read the instructions printed on this form; that he has personally made all the Computations contained in said inventory, and has computed the sum due claimant

If not claimed for himself, insert here name of the firm or other person on whose behalf claim is made.

b. " Manufacturer, dealer, or peddler of tobacco," as the case may be.

"Store," or "warehouse," or "factory."

d. The amount of claim should be expressed in writing without the aid of numerals.

for rebate on account of the several items of stamped goods on hand as specified in said inventory; that the same amounts in the aggregate to dollars and cents; that he has no interest, direct or indirect, in this claim, or any claim for rebate of tax on tobacco, snuff, or cigars, under the fourth section of the act of March 2, 1901, and that he is not a clerk or employee of the claimant.

Subscribed and sworn to before me this

that the above named

day of

and

1901, and I hereby certify are reputable persons, whose

testimony is entitled to full faith, and I further certify that the affidavit was read to them before they signed the same.

district, State of

claimant, and

and

being

duly sworn according to law, deposes and says that he has personally examined the foregoing inventory and the affidavits of witnesses, appended thereto; that he has made due inquiry concerning the reputation of said witnesses for truth and veracity, and believes it to be good, and that he is satisfied that the statements made by them and by the claimant are in all respects just and true. He further states that upon inquiry he finds that the affidavits of claimant and witnesses were taken by an officer duly authorized to administer oaths. He further deposes and says that he has verified the computations in the inventory on the first page hereof, and finds the sum of and dollars ($100 -) to be the true amount of rebate due on the stock embraced in said inventory, and he believes the said to be entitled to that amount.

witnesses, herewith, have been examined, and that the claimant is a and I am satisfied that the witnesses named bear a good reputation for truth and veracity, and I believe the facts are as stated in said inventory and affidavits; that the claim is just and true, and that the amount of cents should be paid to as a rebate of stamp-tax cigars mentioned and described in the foregoing inventory.

dollars and paid on tobacco, snuff, and

The inventory (Form No. 481) prescribed for use of manufacturers and dealers will be forwarded to collectors of internal revenue on their orders and in numbers sufficient to supply each manufacturer and dealer entitled thereto with a copy.

The statute provides that no claim shall be allowed or drawback paid for a less amount than $10. Therefore, manufacturers and dealers making claims for rebate will be required to have on the 1st day of July, 1901, at least 4163 pounds of smoking and manufactured tobacco or snuff, or 16,667 cigars weighing more than 3 pounds per thousand, or 21,740 cigars weighing not more than 3 pounds per thousand, in original and unbroken factory packages, properly stamped, before they will be entitled to drawback or rebate under section 4 of the act of March 2, 1901.

A claim may embrace a less quantity of tax-paid tobacco or snuff than above mentioned, provided the claimant has cigars on hand subject to rebate, when the total drawback or rebate on all the goods inventoried would amount to $10 or more.

If it is shown that the inventory was not commenced, or if commenced was not completed on the 1st day of July, 1901, this will be regarded as a sufficient reason for rejecting the claim. If it is found that for some reason the claim is invalid or fraudulent, it should be reported to the Commissioner for rejection.

The first paragraph of this rule will not apply to claims made for drawback or rebate on goods in transit July 1, 1901, considered under Article IV of the regulations.

Collectors of internal revenue shall make special investigations relative to the merits of doubtful claims and forward the same on special schedules, Form 482, together with all papers relating thereto and their recommendations, to the Commissioner for final decision.

In computing the value of stamps affixed to packages of tobacco and snuff exported with benefit of drawback under section 3386, Revised

Statutes (see page 97, Regulations No. 8 of January, 1900), the discount of 20 per cent provided by the act of March 2, 1901, must be made. And in so computing the value of stamps affixed to cigars the rates established by the act of March 2, 1901, will be used whether the cigars are tax paid before or on or after July 1, 1901.

J. W. YERKES, Commissioner.

Approved: L. J. GAGE, Secretary of the Treasury.

(308.)

Stamp tax-Bucket shops.

Closing of transactions in stocks at bucket shops. -Books to be kept.

TREASURY DEPARTMENT,

OFFICE OF COMMISSIONER OF INTERNAL REVENUE,

Washington, D. C., March 25, 1901.

SIR: I have to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 11th instant, in which you ask the following questions with respect to the tax imposed on bucket shops by the act of March 2, 1901:

1. Is it intended that there shall only be paid a stamp tax of 2 cents on each $100 of the face value or fraction thereof of all stocks, bonds, or other securities covered by the "round turn" transactions?

In reply, you are advised that the ruling of this office under the act of June 13, 1898 (T. D. 21279), by which a purchase or sale of stocks was presumed when a settlement was made in bucket-shop transactions in stocks, has been revoked by ruling 290 of March 2, 1901.

There is nothing in paragraph 3 of Schedule A, act of March 2, 1901 which implies that a purchase or sale of stocks must be presumed, and a written memorandum delivered when a transaction is closed or terminated. On the other hand, the act presupposes that transactions are closed without such memorandum of purchase or sale because they are made with the intent that they may be closed, adjusted, or settled according to or with reference to the public market quotations of prices, or with the intent that they shall be deemed closed or terminated when the public market quotations shall reach a certain figure. It is only original transactions, either by pretended purchase or sale, that require written stamped memoranda to be delivered to the other party under said paragraph.

2. Again, I would especially inquire as to whether the provisions of paragraph 3, obliging bucket shops to keep "just and true books of account wherein shall be plainly and legibly recorded" daily their transactions, applies to brokers engaged in business other than what is commonly termed bucket shop?

In answer, you are advised that the provision in regard to keeping books in paragraph 3 applies to all persons who do any such business as is described in said paragraph, whether such persons are also engaged in business other than that of a bucket shop or not.

Respectfully,

J. W. YERKES, Commissioner.

Mr. F. G. THOMPSON, Revenue Agent, New York, N. Y.