SECTION 4. EXTENSION OF

REMEDIAL AMENDMENT PERIOD TO JUNE 30, 2002, FOR PLANS DIRECTLY AFFECTED BY THE TERRORIST ATTACK

.01 The extension of the remedial amendment period provided by this section applies only to plans directly affected by the Terrorist Attack, as defined in sections 4.02 and 4.03 of this revenue procedure.

.02 For purposes of the revenue procedure, a plan will be considered to be directly affected by the Terrorist Attack if any of the following were located at the time of the attack in the area of the New York City borough of Manhattan bounded on the north by 14th Street: the principal place of business of any employer that maintains the plan; the office of the plan or the plan administrator; the office of the primary recordkeeper serving the plan; or the office of an attorney, enrolled actuary, certified public accountant, or other advisor retained by the plan (or by the employer with respect to issues involving the plan). A plan will also be considered to be directly affected by the Terrorist Attack if any individual required under the terms of the plan or corporate rules to approve plan amendments, the plan administrator, or an attorney, enrolled actuary, certified public accountant, or other advisor retained by the plan (or by the employer with respect to issues

involving the plan) was injured or killed or is missing as a result of the Terrorist Attack.

.03 A plan sponsor of a plan that is not described in section 4.02 may ask the Service to designate the plan as directly affected by the Terrorist Attack if the plan sponsor’s ability to amend the plan and file a determination letter application has been severely impaired as a direct result of the Terrorist Attack. Upon a showing of such directly related, severe impairment, as determined by the Service in its discretion, the Service will designate the plan as directly affected by the Terrorist Attack. The plan sponsor’s request should be sent to the following address:

Manager, EP Determinations Attention: RAP Extension

Coordinator 550 Main Street Room 5106 Cincinnati, Ohio 45202

The request must be made by the later of December 31, 2001, or the 60th day preceding the end of the plan’s GUST remedial amendment period (determined without regard to the extensions under this revenue procedure). The request must explain how the Terrorist Attack has directly and severely impaired the ability to amend the plan and file a determination letter application. The Service will not designate a plan as directly affected by the Terrorist Attack on account of delays experienced by a significant segment of the nation, such as disruptions in transportation or mail delivery and delays associated with diversion of resources to other activities as a result of the Terrorist Attack. If the request is denied, the GUST remedial amendment period for the plan will end on the later of the date it would otherwise end or the date that is one month after the date of the letter denying the request.

.04 The GUST remedial amendment period for directly affected plans is extended to June 30, 2002, if the period would otherwise end before then.

.05 This extension of the GUST remedial amendment period applies to all GUST plan amendments of directly affected plans, including all those plan amendments specifically enumerated in Rev. Proc. 99–23. In addition, this extension applies with respect to all disqualify

ing provisions of directly affected new plans adopted or effective after December 7, 1994, and with respect to all plan amendments adopted after December 7, 1994, that would cause a directly affected existing plan to fail to be qualified.

.06 The TRA ’86 remedial amendment period for directly affected governmental plans and nonelecting church plans is also extended to June 30, 2002, if the period would otherwise end before then.

.07 Plan sponsors who file determination letter applications utilizing the extension provided by this section must include with their application an attachment, labeled “September 11, 2001 Terrorist Attack,” which describes how the plan meets the criteria in section 4.02 (for example, that at the time of the Terrorist Attack the office of the plan administrator was located in the area of Manhattan bounded on the north by 14th Street). This label must be on the attachment and not on the envelope. If the Service has designated the plan as directly affected in response to a request submitted under section 4.03, a copy of the Service’s letter so designating the plan should be attached to the determination letter application in place of the attachment.

.08 A plan sponsor of a directly affected plan described in section 4.02 or 4.03 who can show that it will not be able to amend the plan for GUST or file a determination letter application within the plan’s GUST remedial amendment period (including the extension under section 4.04) without incurring substantial hardship directly related to the Terrorist Attack may request a further extension under § 1.401(b)–1(f). The request should be addressed to the Manager, EP Determinations, at the address in section 4.03 and must be made by the later of April 30, 2002, or the 60th day preceding the end of the plan’s GUST remedial amendment period. A request made under this section 4.08 may be combined with a request made under section 4.03, provided, however, that the combined request is made by the later of December 31, 2001, or the 60th day preceding the end of the plan’s GUST remedial amendment period (determined without regard to the extensions under this revenue procedure). A request under this section 4.08 must clearly demonstrate the hardship that will be incurred without a further extension.

2001–49 I.R.B 553 December 3, 2001

information regarding this revenue procedure, please contact the Employee Plans’ taxpayer assistance telephone service at 1–877–829–5500 (a toll-free number), between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 9:30 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday. Mr. Flannery may be reached at 1–202–283–9888 (not a toll-free number).

For example, if the extension is needed because of delays in obtaining documents and information needed to amend the plan, the request must include a description of such documents and information, an explanation of how these delays are directly related to the Terrorist Attack, an explanation of steps taken to date to amend the plan, and the requested extension date, including specific justification for the extension date. In no event will an extension beyond December 31, 2002, be granted. If the request for a further extension is denied, the GUST remedial amendment period for the plan will end on the later of the date on which it would otherwise end (including the extension under section 4.04) or the date that is one month after the date of the letter denying the request.

.09 This extension does not apply to the time by which an employer must

either adopt a pre-approved plan or certify its intent to adopt such a plan in order to be eligible for the extension of the GUST remedial amendment period under Rev. Proc. 2000–20, as modified.