SECTION 21. AMENDMENTS

.01 Opinion or Advisory Letters for Sponsor or VS Practitioner Amendments

• A plan must be operated in accordance with the written plan document. When there are changes with respect to plan qualification requirements that will impact the provisions of the written plan document, the adoption of interim amendments will generally be required in accordance with the rules set forth in Rev. Proc. 2007–44. Interim amendments adopted by a pre-approved sponsor or practitioner on behalf of adopting employers must be provided to the adopting employers. The date on which each amendment is adopted by the M&P sponsor or VS practitioner must be provided with the amendment. The requirement to provide the date for each amendment is effective for amendments adopted by the sponsor or practitioner on or after the effective date of this revenue procedure. However, this does not change the applicable on-cycle submission period for the six-year cycle when sponsors or VS practitioners must request opinion or advisory letters, which will still only occur once every six years. The Service will entertain a request for an opinion or advisory letter as to the acceptability, for purposes of § 401(a) or 403(a), of the form of the plan as restated, during the applicable on-cycle submission period for the six-year cycle, as provided in section 8.01 and section 15.01. The sponsor or VS practitioner must, except as provided in section 12 or section 18, submit an application under the procedures in section 7 or section 17, together with a copy of the plan’s certification regarding interim amendments, a cover letter summarizing the changes to the plan that are affected by such amendment(s), and a copy of the plan that is being restated. The Service retains the right to request and secure from the sponsor/practitioner in appropriate circumstances copies of all interim amendments reflected on the applicable Cumulative List that the sponsor/practitioner has adopted on behalf of its adopting employers.

.02 Loss of Qualified Status for Certain Amendments — A pre-approved plan will not lose its qualified status merely because amendments are made that cover any of the following:

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a VS plan. The effect of employer amendments or the adoption of an individually designed plan on employers eligible for the six-year remedial amendment cycle is described in section 19 of Rev. Proc. 2007–44. .03 In addition to the provisions described in section 19 of Rev. Proc. 2007–44, the Service may in its discretion determine that a plan is an individually designed plan that will not receive an extended remedial amendment cycle, due to the nature and extent of the amendments.