The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is a domestic law enforcement agency within the United States Department of Justice.

Why was ATF founded?

The oldest tax-collecting Treasury agency, the ATF traces its roots back nearly 200 years, to when Congress imposed a tax on imported spirits to help pay the Revolutionary War debt in 1789. ... In 1862, Congress created an Office of Internal Revenue, also within the Treasury Department.

When was ATF developed?

In 1972 ATF was officially established as an independent bureau within the Treasury Department on July 1, 1972, this transferred the responsibilities of the ATF division of the IRS to the new Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms.