(a) Filing of petitions. Petitions for exemptions are to be filed with OFE at the address given in §501.11.

(b) Acceptance of petition.

(1) Upon acceptance (as distinguished from filing) of the petition, OFE shall publish in the Federal Register a Notice of Acceptance of Petition or, in the case of an exemption by certification, a Notice of Acceptance and Availability of Certification, signifying that an exemption proceeding has commenced.

(2) OFE will notify each petitioner in writing within thirty (30) days of receipt of the petition that it has been accepted or rejected and, if rejected, the reasons therefor.

(3) A petition, including supporting documents, will be accepted if the information contained appears to be sufficient to support an OFE determination. Additional information may be requested during the course of the proceeding, and failure to respond to such a request may ultimately result in denial of the requested exemption.

(4) Acceptance of petition does not constitute a determination that the requested exemption will be granted.

(c) Rejection of petition.

(1) OFE will reject a petition if it does not meet the information of certification requirements established for the relevant exemptions under parts 503 and 504 of this chapter. A written explanation of the reasons for rejection will be furnished with notification of the rejection.

(2) A timely-filed petition rejected as inadequate will not be rendered untimely if resubmitted in amended form within ninety (90) days of the date of rejection.

(3) OFE will, within thirty (30) days of receipt of a petition that is found to be incomplete due to minor deficiencies, notify the petitioner of the deficiencies and allow ninety (90) days from the date of notification to cure the specified deficiencies. The failure to cure the deficiencies during this time may result in denial of the requested exemption.

(d) Waiver of filing requirements. Upon its own motion or at the request of a petitioner, OFE may waive some or all of the regulatory requirements if the purposes of FUA would be best achieved by doing so.