SECTION 17. HOW TO APPLY

FOR AN OPINION OR ADVISORY LETTER

.01 The Service will accept applications for opinion and advisory letters for § 403(b) pre-approved plans beginning June 28, 2013.

.02 A separate application is required for each adoption agreement that is offered for adoption by a prototype sponsor and each specimen plan of a volume submitter. For example, assume a pre-approved plan sponsor maintains three volume submitter specimen plans and two prototype plan basic plan documents. One of the volume submitter plans does not use an adoption agreement, another has only one adoption agreement, and the third has two adoption agreements. Assume that there are three adoption agreements that may be used with each prototype plan basic plan document. In this case, the pre-approved plan sponsor must submit 10 separate applications, four applications for the volume submitter plans and six applications for the prototype plans.

.03 An application for an opinion letter for a § 403(b) prototype plan may be filed by a prototype sponsor, by a mass submitter with respect to its mass submitter plan, or by a mass submitter on behalf of a word-for-word identical adopter or minor modifier of the mass submitter’s plan. An application for an advisory letter for a § 403(b) volume submitter specimen plan

may be filed by a volume submitter practitioner, by a mass submitter with respect to its mass submitter plan, or by a mass submitter on behalf of a word-for-word identical adopter of the mass submitter’s plan. The Service is developing forms for these applications and will issue an announcement when the forms become available. Until such time as the forms are available, an application for an opinion or advisory letter for a § 403(b) prototype or specimen plan may be made by submitting the plan to the Service along with a completed and signed “Application for Approval of § 403(b) Pre-approved Plan,” as provided in the appendix to this revenue procedure. The applicable user fee, determined under section 6.03 or section 6.04 of Rev. Proc. 2013–8, 2013–1 I.R.B. 237, as if the application were for a master and prototype plan or a § 401(a) volume submitter plan, respectively, must also be included with the application. The request is to be sent to:

Internal Revenue Service Commissioner, TE/GE Attention: SE:T:EP:RA P.O. Box 27063 McPherson Station Washington, DC 20038

.04 In the case of an initial submission of a mass submitter’s basic plan document or specimen plan under this revenue procedure, the mass submitter’s application(s) must also be accompanied by applications for opinion or advisory letters filed on behalf of at least 30 word-for-word identical adopters of the basic plan document or specimen plan, as applicable, unless the mass submitter has already satisfied this requirement in connection with a previous application under this revenue procedure involving another basic plan document or specimen plan, as applicable. After satisfying the 30 word-for-word identical adopter requirement, the mass submitter may submit additional applications on behalf of other pre-approved plan sponsors that wish to adopt a word-for-word identical plan, or, in the case of a § 403(b) prototype plan, a minor modifier plan. In addition, the mass submitter may then submit requests for opinion or advisory letters for its other § 403(b) prototype or specimen plans, as applicable, regardless of the number of identical adopters of such other plans. Until such time as the applica

April 29, 2013 999 2013–18 I.R.B.

Bulletin. The pre-approved plan sponsor should then notify each adopting eligible employer of the revocation as soon as possible. The content of the notification to each adopting eligible employer must explain how the revocation affects any reliance an adopting eligible employer has on the applicable opinion or advisory letter.