This document contains final regulations regarding reorganizations under section 368(a)(1)(E) and section 368(a)(1)(F) of the Internal Revenue Code. The regulations affect corporations and their shareholders.
Effective Date: These regulations are effective on February 25, 2005.
Applicability Date: These regulations apply to transactions occurring on or after February 25, 2005.
On August 12, 2004, the IRS and Treasury Department published a notice of proposed rulemaking (REG-106889-04, 2004-38 I.R.B. 501) in the Federal Register (69 FR 49836) proposing regulations regarding the requirements for a reorganization under section 368(a)(1)(E) and section 368(a)(1)(F) of the Internal Revenue Code (Code). Generally, a transaction must satisfy the continuity of interest and continuity of business enterprise requirements to qualify as a reorganization under section 368(a). The notice proposed amending §1.368-1(b) to provide that a continuity of interest and a continuity of business enterprise are not required for a transaction to qualify as a reorganization under section 368(a)(1)(E) (E reorganization) or section 368(a)(1)(F) (F reorganization). The notice also proposed amending §1.368-2 to include rules regarding the requirements for a transaction to qualify as an F reorganization and regarding the effects of an F reorganization.
The IRS and Treasury Department have received oral comments urging that the rule providing that the continuity of interest and continuity of business enterprise requirements do not apply to E and F reorganizations be finalized quickly. For the reasons expressed in the preamble to the proposed regulations, this Treasury decision adopts that rule for transactions on or after February 25, 2005. The IRS and Treasury Department continue to study the other issues addressed in the notice of proposed rulemaking, and welcomes further comment on those issues.
The following publications are obsolete as of February 25, 2005:
Rev. Rul. 69-516, 1969-2 C.B. 56.
Rev. Rul. 77-415, 1977-2 C.B. 311.
Rev. Rul. 77-479, 1977-2 C.B. 119.
Rev. Rul. 82-34, 1982-1 C.B. 59.
It has been determined that this Treasury decision is not a significant regulatory action as defined in Executive Order 12866. Therefore, a regulatory assessment is not required. It also has been determined that section 553(b) of the Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. chapter 5) does not apply to these regulations, and, because these regulations do not impose a collection of information on small entities, the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. chapter 6) does not apply. Pursuant to section 7805(f) of the Code, the proposed regulations preceding these regulations were submitted to the Chief Counsel for Advocacy of the Small Business Administration for comment on its impact on small business.
Accordingly, 26 CFR part 1 is amended as follows:
Paragraph 1. The authority citation for part 1 continues to read in part as follows:
Authority: 26 U.S.C. 7805 * * *
Par. 2. Section 1.368-1(b) is amended by adding a sentence after the seventh sentence to read as follows:
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(b) Purpose. * * * Notwithstanding the requirements of this paragraph (b), for transactions occurring on or after February 25, 2005, a continuity of the business enterprise and a continuity of interest are not required for the transaction to qualify as a reorganization under section 368(a)(1)(E) or (F). * * *
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Mark E. Matthews,Approved February 14, 2005.
Eric Solomon,The Internal Revenue Bulletin is produced and published by the Internal Revenue Service and contains IRS pronouncements affecting tax analysis under the Code and the Regulations, including but not limited to Revenue Procedures, Revenue Rulings, Notices and Announcements. Access the IRS site at https://www.irs.gov/help/irsgov-accessibility for information concerning accessibility of IRS materials. While every effort has been made to ensure that the IRB database files available through the TouchTax application are accurate, those using TouchTax for legal research should verify their results against the printed versions of the IRBs available from the IRS.