SECTION 7. OPINION LETTERS —

INSTRUCTIONS TO SPONSORS

.01 Employee Plans Rulings and Agreements Issues Opinion Letters — Employee Plans Rulings and Agreements will, upon the request of a sponsor, issue an opinion letter as to the acceptability of the form of the sponsor’s M&P plan and any related trust or custodial account under §§ 401(a), 403(a), and 501(a). .02 Procedure for Requesting Opinion Letters - A request for an opinion letter relating to an M&P plan must be submitted on the current version of Form 4461, Application for Approval of Master or Prototype Defined Contribution Plan, Form 4461–A, Application for Approval of Master or Prototype Defined Benefit Plan, or Form 4461–B, Application for Ap- proval of Master or Prototype Plan Mass Submitter Adopting Sponsor, as appropriate. These forms may be downloaded from the Internet at the following address: http://www.irs.gov . All information on the first page of the application must be typed. See section 20 for the address where to file the application.

.03 Expediting Review of Substantially Identical Plans — The Service reserves the right to review applications in any order that will expedite the processing of opinion letter applications. To expedite the review

the adoption agreement must contain a cautionary statement to the effect that the failure to properly fill out the adoption agreement may result in failure of the plan to qualify. The adoption agreement must also contain a statement that provides that the sponsor will inform the adopting employer of any amendments made to the plan or of the discontinuance or abandonment of the plan.

.12 Sponsor Telephone Numbers M&P plan adoption agreements must include the sponsor’s address and telephone number (or a space for the address and telephone number of the sponsor’s authorized representative) for inquiries by adopting employers regarding the adoption of the plan, the meaning of plan provisions, or the effect of the opinion letter.

.13 Definition of Employee / § 414(b), (c), (m), (n), and (o) - Each M&P plan must include a definition of employee as any employee of the employer maintaining the plan or any other employer aggregated under § 414(b), (c), (m), or (o) and the regulations thereunder. The definition of employee shall also include any individual deemed under § 414(n) (or under regulations under § 414(o)) to be an employee of any employer described in the previous sentence.

.14 Definition of Service / § 414(b), (c), (m), (n), and (o) — Each M&P plan must specifically credit all service with any employer aggregated under § 414(b), (c), (m), or (o) and the regulations thereunder as service with the employer maintaining the plan. In addition, in the case of an individual deemed under § 414(n) (or under regulations under § 414(o)) to be the employee of any employer described in the previous sentence, service with such employer must be credited to such individual.