SECTION 12. M&P MASS

SUBMITTERS

.01 Opinion Letters Issued to M&P Mass Submitters - EP Rulings and Agreements will, upon request by an M&P mass submitter, as defined in section 4.08, issue an opinion letter as to the acceptability of the form of the mass submitter’s M&P plan and any related trust or custodial account under §§ 401(a), 403(a), and 501(a). With respect to its plan, the M&P mass submitter must submit a completed Form 4461 or 4461–A, as applicable, to the address in section 20. The first page of the Form 4461 or 4461–A must be typed. The application must include a copy of the plan (adoption agreement and basic plan document) and any separate trust or custodial account document(s). In the case of an initial submission of a basic plan document under this revenue procedure, the M&P mass submitter’s application must also be accompanied by applications for opinion letters filed on behalf of the requisite number of identical adopters (as determined under section 4.08), unless the M&P mass submitter has already satisfied this requirement in connection with a previous application under this revenue procedure involving another basic plan document. The application must also include the required user fee. An M&P mass submitter may submit an application on its own behalf as one of the requisite number of adopting sponsors. After satisfying the requisite number of adopting sponsors requirement, the M&P mass submitter may submit additional applications on behalf of other sponsors that wish to adopt a word-for-word identical plan or a plan that contains minor modifications from the mass submitter plan, as provided in section 12.03(2). In addition, the M&P mass submitter may then submit requests for opinion letters under this section 12.01 for its other plans, regardless of the number of identical adopters of such other plans.

.02 Reduced Procedural Requirements for Sponsors That Use Mass Submitter Plans - A sponsor of an M&P plan of a mass submitter must obtain an opinion letter. For initial qualification, or where the sponsor’s plan includes minor modifications, the M&P mass submitter on behalf of the sponsor must submit to EP Rulings and Agreements a completed Form 4461-B which contains a declaration by

the first plan year beginning within such one-year period.

.03 Loss of Qualified Status - If a sponsor reasonably concludes that an employer’s M&P plan may no longer be a qualified plan and the sponsor does not or cannot submit a request to correct the qualification failure under EPCRS, it is incumbent on the sponsor to notify the employer that the plan may no longer be qualified, advise the employer that adverse tax consequences may result from loss of the plan’s qualified status, and inform the employer about the availability of the Employee Plans Compliance Resolution System. See Rev. Proc. 2002–47, 2002–2 C.B. 133.