Abbreviation for "Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives". The American federal police agency was founded in 1972 and was subordinate to the US Department of Justice. Its main tasks were to combat violent crime and protect the public in connection with alcohol, tobacco, firearms and explosives. Specifically, the authority was responsible, for example, for taxation, for the approval of labels, for the movement of alcohol between the federal states and protection against adulteration (pantschereien). In connection with alcohol, compliance with the legal regulations was controlled. On behalf of the US federal government, the office developed the American Appellation System AVA (American Viticultural Area) from the 1970s onwards, modelled on the French Appellation d'Origine Protégée, which was then put into effect for the entire USA in 1983.
All new AVAs had to be applied for at the BATF. As a result of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center on 11 September 2001, the Homeland Security Act came into force in 2002. In connection with this, a division of tasks took place. The topics of "weapons and crime" were separated from the functions of "regulation and taxation". Responsibility for firearms and explosives was transferred to the Department of Justice, along with responsibility for investigating arson and crimes related to alcohol and tobacco, such as smuggling and counterfeiting. All alcohol and tobacco tax and trade agendas were transferred to the new Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau ( TTB ) under the Ministry of Finance from January 2003.
BATF logo: Public domain, Link
ATF headquarters: From Flickr, CC BY 2.0, Link
