§ 2570.40 Conferences.

(a) Any conference between the Department and an applicant pertaining to a requested exemption will be held in Washington, DC, except that a telephone or electronic conference will be held at the applicant's request.

(b) An applicant is entitled to only one conference with respect to any exemption application. The Department may hold additional conferences at its sole discretion if it determines additional conference(s) are appropriate. An applicant will not be entitled to a conference, however, if the Department has held a hearing on the exemption under either § 2570.46 or § 2570.47.

(c) Insofar as possible, conferences will be scheduled as joint conferences with all applicants present if:

(1) More than one applicant has requested an exemption with respect to the same or similar types of transactions;

(2) The Department is considering the applications together as a request for a class exemption;

(3) The Department contemplates not granting the exemption; and

(4) More than one applicant has requested a conference.

(d) In instances where the applicant has requested a conference pursuant to § 2570.38(b) and also has submitted additional information pursuant to § 2570.39, the Department will schedule a conference under this section for a date and time that occurs within 20 days after the date on which the Department has provided either oral or written notification to the applicant that, after reviewing the additional information, it still is not prepared to propose the requested exemption or a later date determined at the Department's sole discretion. If, for reasons beyond its control, the applicant cannot attend a conference within the time limit described in this paragraph (d), the applicant may request an extension of time for the scheduling of a conference, provided that such request is made before the expiration of the time limit. The Department, at its sole discretion, will only grant such an extension in unusual circumstances and for a brief period.