SECTION 3. SUMMARY OF

SIGNIFICANT MODIFICATIONS

.01 Consistent with Announcement 2015–19, this revenue procedure eliminates, as of January 1, 2017, the staggered five-year remedial amendment cycle system for individually designed plans, currently set forth in Rev. Proc. 2007–44. This revenue procedure also provides new rules, as described in paragraphs (1) through (5) of this section 3.01, for individually designed plans. A sponsor of an individually designed plan will be permitted to submit a determination letter application for initial plan qualification, for qualification upon termination, and in other circumstances. See section 4.03 of this revenue procedure.

(1) Effective January 1, 2017, the interim amendment requirement set forth in section 5.04 of Rev. Proc. 2007–44 will no longer apply to individually designed plans. See section 4.02 of this revenue procedure.

(2) With respect to individually designed plans, for disqualifying provisions that arise as a result of a change in qualification requirements, the Department of the Treasury (Treasury) and the IRS intend to publish annually a Required Amendments List, which will establish the deadline for a plan to be amended to comply with requirements described in section 5.03 of this revenue procedure that are identified on the list. The deadline (that is, the end of the remedial amendment period for a change to a qualification requirement included on a particular Required Amendments List) will be, unless otherwise provided, the end of the second calendar year following the year in which the list is issued. In general, a change to the qualification requirements will not appear on a Required Amendments List until guidance with respect to such change (including model amendments, if any) has been provided in regulations or in other guidance published in the Internal Revenue Bulletin. The first Required Amendments List generally will apply to changes in qualification requirements first effective during the 2016 calendar year. See sections 4, 5, and 9 of this revenue procedure.

(3) This revenue procedure extends the remedial amendment period for individu

ally designed plans to correct disqualifying provisions (i) that are in new plans, (ii) that arise as a result of amendments made to existing plans, and (iii) that arise as a result of a change in qualification requirements. See section 5 of this revenue procedure.

(4) For individually designed plans, a transition rule extends the remedial amendment period for certain disqualifying provisions to December 31, 2017. See section 6 of this revenue procedure.

(5) The scope of review of an individually designed plan submitted for a determination letter is described in section 12 of this revenue procedure.

(6) The effect of subsequent changes in law and plan amendments on the reliance by the sponsor of an individually designed plan on a prior determination letter is described in section 13 of this revenue procedure.

.02 A description of, and clarifying changes to, the six-year remedial amendment cycle system for pre-approved plans, and modifications of the six-year remedial amendment cycle system to reflect changes that have been made to the determination letter program for individually designed plans, are provided in Part III of this revenue procedure. In addition, the time to adopt a newly approved preapproved defined contribution plan and to file for a determination letter for certain adopters of pre-approved defined contribution plans for the second six-year remedial amendment cycle is extended to April 30, 2017. .03 The beginning of the 12-month submission period for M&P sponsors and VS practitioners to submit pre-approved defined contribution plans for opinion or advisory letters during the third six-year remedial amendment cycle is delayed until August 1, 2017. See section 16 of this revenue procedure.

.04 To assist sponsors in achieving operational compliance with the Code’s qualification requirements, the IRS intends to provide annually an Operational Compliance List that identifies changes in qualification requirements that are effective during a calendar year. See sections 10 and 17.05 of this revenue procedure.