SECTION 2. BACKGROUND

.01 Rev. Proc. 2007–44 provides a system of cyclical remedial amendment periods under § 401(b) of the Internal Revenue Code for amending plans qualified under § 401(a) and obtaining determination letters. Under this system, every pre-approved plan (that is, a master and prototype (M&P) or volume submitter (VS) plan) must be submitted to the Service for a new opinion or advisory letter every six years, during the one-year submission period at the beginning of the plan’s six-year cycle. Pre-approved defined contribution plans have a different six-year cycle than pre-approved defined benefit plans. The cycles and submission periods are set forth in section 18 of Rev. Proc. 2007–44.

.02 After the Service issues a new opinion or advisory letter, the pre-approved plan’s adopting employers must adopt the newly approved restatement of the plan within the adoption period announced by the Service. An eligible employer that adopts the restated pre-approved plan within the adoption period will have adopted the plan within the employer’s six-year remedial amendment cycle. In Announcement 2008–23, 2008–14 I.R.B. 731, the Service announced that the adoption period for pre-approved defined contribution plans that have received opinion or advisory letters under the Economic Growth and Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2001, Pub. L. 107–16, (“EGTRRA”) will end on April 30, 2010.

.03 Certain exceptions to the preceding rules apply to new pre-approved plans. A new pre-approved plan is one that is created after the submission period for the applicable six-year cycle. An application for an opinion or advisory letter for a new pre-approved plan that is submitted outside of the submission period within an applicable six-year cycle is filed “off-cycle.” Section 20 of Rev. Proc. 2007–44 provides the following exceptions to the rules described in sections 2.01 and 2.02, above:

(1) In order for the adopting employers of a new pre-approved plan to be eligible for an applicable six-year cycle, the preapproved plan must be submitted to the Service for an opinion or advisory letter prior to the beginning of the announced adoption period for that cycle.

(2) The opinion or advisory letter with respect to an off-cycle application is not

2003–84 by this revenue procedure with respect to additional eligibility conditions added in §§ 4.01(5), (6), or (7) of this revenue procedure (for example, the 5% minimum gain share condition) to the extent that such modifications are inapplicable to the partnership under the effective date provisions in this § 9.

9.02 Grandfathering Rules . (1) Rev. Proc. 2003–84 Grandfather- ing Rules . The grandfathering rules in § 9.02 of Rev. Proc. 2003–84 continue to apply to matters covered by such grandfathering rules.

(2) Partnerships under IRS Notice 2008–55 . In the case of a partnership that meets the requirements of § 3.8 of IRS Notice 2008–55, 2008–27 I.R.B. 11 (July 7, 2008), regarding certain partnerships that hold certain auction rate preferred stock and that have certain prescribed liquidity facilities, this revenue procedure shall apply for purposes of § 3.8 of IRS Notice 2008–55 as the successor to Rev. Proc. 2003–84, and in applying this revenue procedure to a partnership under § 3.8 of IRS Notice 2008–55, the partnership eligibility conditions in § 4.01(5) and § 4.01(7) of this revenue procedure shall be inapplicable.