SECTION 2. WHAT

CHANGES HAVE BEEN MADE TO THIS PROCEDURE?

In general .01 This revenue procedure is a general update of Rev. Proc. 2000-6, 2000-1 I.R.B. 187, which contains the Service’s general procedures for employee plans determination letter requests. Most of the changes to Rev. Proc. 2000-6 involve minor revisions, such as updating citations to other revenue procedures.

GUST determination .02 Section 3, relating to issues on which taxpayers may request guidance under the proletter program cedure has been revised to provide that, in accordance with Rev. Proc. 2000-27, 2000-26 I.R.B. 1272, determination letter applications for individually-designed plans, including volume submitter plans, are now reviewed taking into account all the changes in the qualification requirements made by GUST, including those changes that are first effective in plan years beginning after December 31, 1998. It also provides that applicants may not request pre-GATT or GUST I determination letters for any application filed after March 3, 2001.

Other changes .03 The following additional changes have been made:

(1) Section 5, relating to the scope of a determination letter, has been modified by the addition of section 5.08, which provides that the scope of a determination letter may be further defined by the specific terms of the letter and by Publication 794, Favorable Determination Letter .

(2) Section 6.14, relating to incomplete applications, has been clarified to provide that the failure to provide information required by an application, including any supplemental information required by the instructions for the application, may result in the application being returned to the applicant as incomplete.

(3) Section 8.05, relating to the special rules for standardized plans, has been revised to reflect the provisions of Rev. Proc. 2000-20, 2000-6 I.R.B. 553.

(4) Section 9, relating to volume submitter plans, has been revised to:

(a) cross-reference the lead specimen plan procedures described in section 17.02 of Rev. Proc. 2000-20;

(b) provide that practitioners must reply to requests for changes to the specimen plan within 30 days of the request;

(c) include in the practitioner representation that is required to be submitted with an employer’s determination letter application a statement that the employer’s plan satis

2001–1 I.R.B. 199 January 2, 2001

fies all requirements of GUST (where the latest advisory letter for the specimen plan does not consider all requirements of GUST); and

(d) clarify that employers’ plans will be considered volume submitter plans only if the plans are adopted on or after the date of the volume submitter advisory letter.

(5) Section 10, relating to multiple employer plans, has been revised to change the address where applications are to be sent.

(6) Section 11, relating to minor amendments, has been revised to provide that Form 6406 may be used to request determination letters for minor amendments to multiemployer and multiple employer plans but generally may not be used to request a GUST letter.

(7) Section 12, relating to plan terminations, has been revised to point out some of the supplemental information that is required to be submitted with the application.

(8) Section 15, relating to waiver of minimum funding, has been revised to change the address where waiver requests and determination letter applications on related plan amendments are to be sent.