(a) The regulations in this part deal with the circumstances under which a domestic corporation may enter into an agreement with the Internal Revenue Service for the purpose of extending the insurance system established by title II of the Social Security Act to certain services performed outside the United States by citizens of the United States as employees of a foreign subsidiary of the domestic corporation, and with the obligations of a domestic corporation which enters into such an agreement. The provisions of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended, to which the regulations in this part pertain are contained in section 3121(1). The liabilities assumed under an agreement entered into pursuant to such section are based on the remuneration for services covered by the agreement. Such agreement may not be effective prior to January 1, 1955.

(b) Although the obligations incurred under an agreement entered into pursuant to section 3121(1) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended, must be distinguished from the obligations imposed on employers with respect to the taxes under the Federal Insurance Contributions Act, the two are similar in many respects. Accordingly, the regulations in this part are prescribed as a supplement to the regulations (26 CFR (1954), Part 31, Subpart B) relating to the employee tax and the employer tax imposed by the Federal Insurance Contributions Act. The terms used in the regulations in this part have the same meaning, unless otherwise provided, as when used in the regulations relating to the taxes imposed by such act.

(c) The regulations in this part constitute Part 36 of title 26 of the Code of Federal Regulations. As used in the regulations in this part, the word “Code” means the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended, and the term “Federal Insurance Contributions Act” means chapter 21 of such Code. All references to sections of law are references to the Code unless otherwise indicated. The number of each section of the regulations begins with 36 followed by a decimal point (36.). Numbers which do not begin with 36 followed by a decimal point are numbers of sections of law unless otherwise indicated. In identifying sections of regulations, the symbol “§” is used.