SECTION 15. WAIVER OF

MINIMUM FUNDING

Scope .01 This section provides procedures with respect to defined contribution plans for requesting a waiver of the minimum funding standard account and requesting a determination letter on any plan amendment required for the waiver.

January 2, 2001 218 2001–1 I.R.B.

Applicability of Rev. Proc. 94-41 .02 The procedures of Rev. Proc. 94-41, 1994-1 C.B. 711, apply to the request for a waiver of the minimum funding requirement.

Waiver and determination .03 Under this section, both the request for a waiver ruling and the request for a deterletter request submitted mination letter on the effect of any amendment necessary to satisfy section 3 of Rev. Rul. to EP Technical 78-223, 1978-1 C.B. 125, must be submitted by the taxpayer to EP Technical where it will be treated as a mandatory request for technical advice. The request that is submitted to EP Technical must include the following:

(1) All the procedural requirements described in section 2 of Rev. Proc. 94-41 must be satisfied;

(2) The submission must include a completed Form 5300 (with Schedule Q) and all necessary documents, plan amendments, and information required by the Form 5300 and by this revenue procedure for approval of the plan amendments; and

(3) The request and the applicable user fee (required by Rev. Proc. 2001-8) for both the waiver request and the determination letter request should be sent to:

Internal Revenue Service Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division Attention: T:EP:RA P.O. Box 27063 McPherson Station Washington, D.C. 20038

Additional information sent after the initial request should be sent to:

Manager, Actuarial T:EP:RA:T:A Internal Revenue Service 1111 Constitution Ave., N.W. Washington, D.C. 20224

Handling of the request .04 The waiver request will be handled by EP Technical as follows:

(1) The waiver request and supporting documents will be forwarded to Actuarial, T:EP:RA:T:A, which will treat the request as a technical advice on the qualification issue with respect to the plan provisions necessary to satisfy section 3 of Rev. Rul. 78-223.

(2) EP Determinations will be notified of the request. In order not to delay the processing of the request, all materials relating to the determination letter request will be forwarded by EP Technical to EP Determinations for consideration while the technical advice request is completed.

(3) EP Technical will consider both the application for a funding waiver and the proposed plan amendment. If a waiver is to be granted and if EP Technical believes that qualification of the plan is not adversely affected by the plan amendment, the mandatory technical advice memorandum will be issued to EP Determinations. EP Determinations must decide within 10 working days from the date of the technical advice memorandum either to furnish the applicant with the technical advice memorandum and with a favorable advance determination letter, or to ask for reconsideration of the technical advice memorandum. This request must be in writing. An initial written notice of an intent to make this request may be submitted within 10 working days of the date of the technical advice memorandum and followed by a written request within 30 working days from the date of such written notice. If EP Determinations does not ask for reconsideration of the technical advice memorandum within 10 working days, Actuarial will issue the waiver ruling. This ruling will not contain the caveat described in section 3.02 of Rev. Proc. 94-41.

2001–1 I.R.B. 219 January 2, 2001

Interested party notice .05 The notice and comment requirements for interested parties provided in sections 17 and comment and 18 of this revenue procedure must be satisfied. Comments are to be forwarded to EP Determinations. With respect to the waiver request, the notice requirements applicable to waiver requests found in Rev. Proc. 94-41 must be satisfied.

When waiver request .06 In the case of a plan other than a multiemployer plan, no waiver may be granted should be submitted under § 412(d) with respect to any plan for any plan year unless an application therefor is submitted to the Service not later than the 15th day of the third month beginning after the close of such plan year. The Service may not extend this deadline. A request for a waiver with respect to a multiemployer plan generally must be submitted no later than the close of the plan year following the plan year for which the waiver is requested.

In seeking a waiver with respect to a plan year which has not yet ended, the applicant may have difficulty in furnishing sufficient current evidence in support of the request. For this reason it is generally advisable that such advance request be submitted no earlier than 180 days prior to the end of the plan year for which the waiver is requested.