Rev. Rul. 56-310

Advice has been requested whether packages of manufactured tobacco products intended for exportation, without payment of tax, may bear the name of the foreign purchaser of such products without qualifying language to indicate that the purchaser is not the manufacturer of such products.

Section 5723 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 requires, with certain exceptions, that cigars, cigarettes, manufactured tobacco, and cigarette papers and tubes, shall, before removal, be put up in packages having such labels, notices, and stamps as the Secretary or his delegate shall by regulations prescribe. One of the exceptions provided therein is that such articles removed for shipment to a foreign country, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, or a possession of the United States, and so shipped, may be exempted from the above requirement.

Packages of manufactured tobacco products withdrawn, without payment of tax, for exportation, are not required to show the name and address of the manufacturer or his internal revenue permit number as prescribed by section 270.146 of the Regulations relating to Cigars and Cigarettes (Manufacturers, Exporters, and Dealers) and section 275.135 of the Regulations relating to Manufactured Tobacco (Manufacturers, Importers, and Dealers) with respect to tobacco products removed for domestic consumption or use. Accordingly, it is held that the name of the purchaser of such products in a foreign country, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, or a possession of the United States, may appear on such packages without qualifying language. It is also held that the name of the place to which the products are being shipped may appear on such packages.