The Office of Foreign Assets Control added 12 individuals and one entity to its Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list, under Magnitsky-related and counterterrorism designations, OFAC said (here and here).

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau is increasing the civil penalty amount from $19,787 per day to $20,111 per day for violations of the Alcoholic Beverage Labeling Act, it said (here). The increase adjusts the penalty for inflation, TTB said. The law sets requirements for all alcoholic beverages, including imports, to bear a health warning statement on labeling.

Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) ended it pilot testing electronic data filing for importers of alcohol and tobacco products, it said in a notice (here). The pilot allowed for electronic filing by importers of distilled spirits, wine, beer and malt beverages, tobacco products, processed tobacco, and cigarette papers and tubes, and U.S. government and industrial alcohol users. Effective Dec. 31, the pilot, which began in 2015, ended and all importers of TTB-regulated goods "must follow TTB's amended regulations to submit required information on paper or electronically," it said. TTB finalized regulations related to ACE and the International Trade Data System last month (see 1612210013).

The Office of Foreign Assets Control added three individuals and two entities to its Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list, under transnational criminal organizations designations, OFAC said (here).

The Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau is amending its regulations to change excise tax return due dates and remove bond requirements for some taxpayers, it said (here). The agency’s “temporary rule” allows taxpayers who were liable for $1,000 or less in excise taxes on distilled spirits, wines and beer for the previous calendar year, and expect to be liable for $1,000 or less in excise taxes for the current calendar year, to file returns on an annual basis. TTB is also removing bond requirements for taxpayers that are eligible to pay excise taxes on beer and non-industrial spirits and wine using quarterly or annual return periods. TTB is seeking comments by March 6 on these changes in a concurrent proposed rule (here).

President Barack Obama authorized sanctions against Russian individuals and entities “determined to be responsible for tampering, altering, or causing the misappropriation of information with the purpose or effect of interfering with or undermining election processes or institutions,” the Treasury Department said (here). Obama added four individuals and five entities to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list under cyber-related designations, while Treasury in a parallel action added two individuals to the SDN list for their alleged misappropriation of funds or economic resources, trade secrets, personal identifiers or financial information for private financial gain, Treasury said (here). “The integrity and stability of our electronic systems are of utmost importance to our national security and we will hold accountable those who seek to compromise or tamper with those systems,” Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said in a statement. “Treasury will use all of its financial tools as part of the U.S. Government’s effort to counter those who engage in malicious cyber activities against our financial system or our national institutions.”

The Office of Foreign Assets Control added two individuals to its Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list, under counterterrorism designations, OFAC said (here).

The Office of Foreign Assets Control added 18 individuals and five entities to its Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list, under counterproliferation and Syria designations, OFAC said (here).

The Office of Foreign Assets Control is issuing a final rule to amend the Iranian Transactions and Sanctions Regulations to reflect agency licensing policies and address public inquiries, OFAC said (here). The rule will make changes related to authorized sales of agricultural commodities, medicine, and medical devices to Iran pursuant to the Trade Sanctions Reform and Export Enhancement Act of 2000, and clarifies definitions of “goods of Iranian origin” and “Iranian-origin goods,” OFAC said. The final rule will take effect Dec. 23.

The Office of Foreign Assets Control added one individual to its Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list, under counterterrorism designations, OFAC said (here).