(a) Order of the Securities and Exchange Commission. (1) An order of the Securities and Exchange Commission as defined in section 1083(a) must be issued after May 28, 1938 (the date of the enactment of the Revenue Act of 1938 (52 Stat. 447)), and must be issued under the authority of section 11(b) or 11(e) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (15 U.S.C. 79k (b), (e)), to effectuate the provisions of section 11(b) of such Act. In all cases the order must become or have become final in accordance with law; i.e., it must be valid, outstanding, and not subject to further appeal. See further sections 1083(a) and 1081(f).

(2) Section 11 (b) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 provides:

Sec. 11. Simplification of holding company systems.* * *

(b) It shall be the duty of the Commission, as soon as practicable after January 1, 1938:

(1) To require by order, after notice and opportunity for hearing, that each registered holding company, and each subsidiary company thereof, shall take such action as the Commission shall find necessary to limit the operations of the holding-company system of which such company is a part to a single integrated public-utility system, and to such other businesses as are reasonably incidental, or economically necessary or appropriate to the operations of such integrated public-utility system: Provided, however, That the Commission shall permit a registered holding company to continue to control one or more additional integrated public-utility systems, if, after notice and opportunity for hearing, it finds that—

(A) Each of such additional systems cannot be operated as an independent system without the loss of substantial economies which can be secured by the retention of control by such holding company of such system;

(B) All of such additional systems are located in one State, or in adjoining States, or in a contiguous foreign country; and

(C) The continued combination of such systems under the control of such holding company is not so large (considering the state of the art and the area or region affected) as to impair the advantages of localized management, efficient operation, or the effectiveness of regulation.

The Commission may permit as reasonably incidental, or economically necessary or appropriate to the operations of one or more integrated public-utility systems the retention of an interest in any business (other than the business of a public-utility company as such) which the Commission shall find necessary or appropriate in the public interest or for the protection of investors or consumers and not detrimental to the proper functioning of such system or systems.

(2) To require by order, after notice and opportunity for hearing, that each registered holding company, and each subsidiary company thereof, shall take such steps as the Commission shall find necessary to ensure that the corporate structure or continued existence of any company in the holding-company system does not unduly or unnecessarily complicate the structure, or unfairly or inequitably distribute voting power among security holders, of such holding-company system. In carrying out the provisions of this paragraph the Commission shall require each registered holding company (and any company in the same holding-company system with such holding company) to take such action as the Commission shall find necessary in order that such holding company shall cease to be a holding company with respect to each of its subsidiary companies which itself has a subsidiary company which is a holding company. Except for the purpose of fairly and equitably distributing voting power among the security holders of such company, nothing in this paragraph shall authorize the Commission to require any change in the corporate structure or existence of any company which is not a holding company, or of any company whose principal business is that of a public-utility company. The Commission may by order revoke or modify any order previously made under this subsection, if, after notice and opportunity for hearing, it finds that the conditions upon which the order was predicated do not exist. Any order made under this subsection shall be subject to judicial review as provided in section 24.

(3) Section 11(e) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 provides:

Sec. 11. Simplification of holding company systems. * * *

(e) In accordance with such rules and regulations or order as the Commission may deem necessary or appropriate in the public interest or for the protection of investors or consumers, any registered holding company or any subsidiary company of a registered holding company may, at any time after January 1, 1936, submit a plan to the Commission for the divestment of control, securities, or other assets, or for other action by such company or any subsidiary company thereof for the purpose of enabling such company or any subsidiary company thereof to comply with the provisions of subsection (b). If, after notice and opportunity for hearing, the Commission shall find such plan, as submitted or as modified, necessary to effectuate the provisions of subsection (b) and fair and equitable to the persons affected by such plan, the Commission shall make an order approving such plan; and the Commission, at the request of the company, may apply to a court, in accordance with the provisions of subsection (f) of section 18, to enforce and carry out the terms and provisions of such plan. If, upon any such application, the court, after notice and opportunity for hearing, shall approve such plan as fair and equitable and as appropriate to effectuate the provisions of section 11, the court as a court of equity may, to such extent as it deems necessary for the purpose of carrying out the terms and provisions of such plan, take exclusive jurisdiction and possession of the company or companies and the assets thereof, wherever located; and the court shall have jurisdiction to appoint a trustee, and the court may constitute and appoint the Commission as sole trustee, to hold or administer, under the direction of the court and in accordance with the plan theretofore approved by the court and the Commission, the assets so possessed.

(b) Registered holding company, holding-company system, and associate company. (1) Under section 5 of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (15 U.S.C. 79e), any holding company may register by filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission a notification of registration, in such form as the Commission may by rules and regulations prescribe as necessary or appropriate in the public interest or for the protection of investors or consumers. A holding company shall be deemed to be registered upon receipt by the Securities and Exchange Commission of such notification of registration. As used in this part, the term registered holding company means a holding company whose notification of registration has been so received and whose registration is still in effect under section 5 of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935. Under section 2 (a)(7) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (15 U.S.C. 79b (a)(7)), a corporation is a holding company (unless it is declared not to be such by the Securities and Exchange Commission), if such corporation directly or indirectly owns, controls, or holds with power to vote 10 percent or more of the outstanding voting securities of a public-utility company (i.e., an electric utility company or a gas utility company as defined by such act) or of any other holding company. A corporation is also a holding company if the Securities and Exchange Commission determines, after notice and opportunity for hearing, that such corporation directly or indirectly exercises (either alone or pursuant to an arrangement or understanding with one or more other persons) such a controlling influence over the management or policies of any public-utility company (i.e., an electric utility company or a gas utility company as defined by such act) or holding company as to make it necessary or appropriate in the public interest or for the protection of investors or consumers that such corporation be subject to the obligations, duties, and liabilities imposed upon holding companies by the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (15 U.S.C. ch. 2C). An electric utility company is defined by section 2 (a)(3) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (15 U.S.C. 79b (a)(3)) to mean a company which owns or operates facilities used for the generation, transmission, or distribution of electrical energy for sale, other than sale to tenants or employees of the company operating such facilities for their own use and not for resale; and a gas utility company is defined by section 2 (a)(4) of such act (15 U.S.C. 79b (a)(4)), to mean a company which owns or operates facilities used for the distribution at retail (other than distribution only in enclosed portable containers, or distribution to tenants or employees of the company operating such facilities for their own use and not for resale) of natural or manufactured gas for heat, light, or power. However, under certain conditions the Securities and Exchange Commission may declare a company not to be an electric utility company or a gas utility company, as the case may be, in which event the company shall not be considered an electric utility company or a gas utility company.

(2) The term holding company system has the meaning assigned to it by section 2 (a)(9) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (15 U.S.C. 79b (a)(9)), and hence means any holding company, together with all its subsidiary companies (i.e., subsidiary companies within the meaning of section 2(a)(8) of such act (15 U.S.C. 79b (a)(8)), which in general include all companies 10 percent of whose outstanding voting securities is owned directly or indirectly by such holding company) and all mutual service companies of which such holding company or any subsidiary company thereof is a member company. The term mutual service company means a company approved as a mutual service company under section 13 of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (15 U.S.C. 79m). The term member company is defined by action 2 (a)(14) of such act (15 U.S.C. 79b (a)(14)), to mean a company which is a member of an association or group of companies mutually served by a mutual service company.

(3) The term associate company has the meaning assigned to it by section 2 (a)(10) of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935 (15 U.S.C. 79b (a)(10)), and hence an associate company of a company is any company in the same holding-company system with such company.

(c) Majority-owned subsidiary company. The term majority-owned subsidiary company is defined in section 1083 (c). Direct ownership by a registered holding company of more than 50 percent of the specified stock of another corporation is not necessary to constitute such corporation a majority-owned subsidiary company. To illustrate, if the H Corporation, a registered holding company, owns 51 percent of the common stock of the A Corporation and 31 percent of the common stock of the B Corporation, and the A Corporation owns 20 percent of the common stock of the B Corporation (the common stock in each case being the only stock entitled to vote), both the A Corporation and the B Corporation are majority-owned subsidiary companies.

(d) System group. The term system group is defined in section 1083 (d) to mean one or more chains of corporations connected through stock ownership with a common parent corporation, if at least 90 percent of each class of stock (other than (1) stock which is preferred as to both dividends and assets, and (2) stock which is limited and preferred as to dividends but which is not preferred as to assets but only if the total value of such stock is less than 1 percent of the aggregate value of all classes of stock which are not preferred as to both dividends and assets) of each of the corporations (except the common parent corporation) is owned directly by one or more of the other corporations, and if the common parent corporation owns directly at least 90 percent of each class of stock (other than stock preferred as to both dividends and assets) of at least one of the other corporations; but no corporation is a member of a system group unless it is either a registered holding company or a majority-owned subsidiary company. While the type of stock which must, for the purpose of this definition, be at least 90 percent owned may be different from the voting stock which must be more than 50 percent owned for the purpose of the definition of a majority-owned subsidiary company under section 1083(c), as a general rule both types of ownership tests must be met under section 1083(d), since a corporation, in order to be a member of a system group, must also be a registered holding company or a majority-owned subsidiary company.

(e) Nonexempt property. The term nonexempt property is defined by section 1083(e) to include—

(1) The amount of any consideration in the form of a cancellation or assumption of debts or other liabilities of the transferor (including a continuance of encumbrances subject to which the property was transferred). To illustrate, if in obedience to an order of the Securities and Exchange Commission the X Corporation, a registered holding company, transfers property to the Y Corporation in exchange for property (not nonexempt property) with a fair market value of $500,000, the X Corporation receives $100,000 of nonexempt property, if for example—

(i) The Y Corporation cancels $100,000 of indebtedness owed to it by the X Corporation;

(ii) The Y Corporation assumes an indebtedness of $100,000 owed by the X Corporation to another company, the A Corporation; or

(iii) The Y Corporation takes over the property conveyed to it by the X Corporation subject to a mortgage of $100,000.

(2) Short-term obligations (including notes, drafts, bills of exchange, and bankers' acceptances) having a maturity at the time of issuance of not exceeding 24 months, exclusive of days of grace.

(3) Securities issued or guaranteed as to principal or interest by a government or subdivision thereof (including those issued by a corporation which is an instrumentality of a government or subdivision thereof).

(4) Stock or securities which were acquired from a registered holding company which acquired such stock or securities after February 28, 1938, or an associate company of a registered holding company which acquired such stock or securities after February 28, 1938, unless such stock or securities were acquired in obedience to an order of the Securities and Exchange Commission (as defined in section 1083 (a)) or were acquired with the authorization or approval of the Securities and Exchange Commission under any section of the Public Utility Holding Company Act of 1935, and are not nonexempt property within the meaning of section 1083(e) (1), (2), or (3).

(5) Money, and the right to receive money not evidenced by a security other than an obligation described as nonexempt property in section 1083 (e) (2) or (3). The term the right to receive money includes, among other items, accounts receivable, claims for damages, and rights to refunds of taxes.

(f) Stock or securities. The term stock or securities is defined in section 1083(f) for the purposes of part VI (section 1081 and following), subchapter O, chapter 1 of the Code. As therein defined, the term includes voting trust certificates and stock rights or warrants.