According to BATFE, an SBR maintains its status as an SBR as long as the short barrel is attached to the lower or the owner/maker/manufacturer "retains control" over the components that make it an SBR. So you can take the barrel or upper off of the lower and it remains subject to all NFA requirements. Sell or destroy the upper or lower, and it looks like the lower is no longer subject to the NFA.
To correct a misapprehension I had until 5 minutes ago, apparently you can't simply swap the short barrelled upper of an SBR with a 16 inch barrelled upper and take it across state lines. BATFE says that if you "retain control" over the short barrelled upper, the SBR retains its status as an SBR and you have to notify BATFE if you take it to another state. . See
BATFE FAQ. As always, check your local laws.
These Byzantine and often self-contradictory regulations are a perfect example of why giving agencies expansive power to make regulations interpreting poorly drafted laws can create a chilling effect on commerce. How many companies were selling "SBR" lowers without any knowledge that what they were doing potentially created NFA violations? Now apparently they can't. There is ultimately no way you can get a straight answer as to what the law is when the agency can change its regulations at any given time. A perfect example is whether the upper or lower receiver is a firearm. BATFE classifies the AR-15 lower as the firearm, but the upper is the firearm for the FAL, FNC, and the SCAR. Until 2008, the FNC lower was the receiver; BATFE reclassified the upper as the receiver that year.
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