No Plan Assets in 2020 - CARES Act Amendment still required?

We have come across an interesting situation and I'm hoping for some insight here. A client who had a plan formed (i.e. plan document executed) in 2019 has not actively used the plan (i.e. zero contributions made) yet and has been generally non-responsive to our notices regarding the Cycle 3 restatement, etc. They have now recently resurfaced and want to start actively using the plan. This is a new business (formed in 2019) with no new employees (yet).

It is my understanding that the Cycle 3 restatement (under SCP) and SECURE Act amendment will need to be completed. However, my uncertainty is surrounding the CARES Act amendment.

Since there were no funds in the plan, and no other eligible employees (other than the owner), there was no option to allow for coronavirus-related distributions or loans and there were no options for RMDs. Would the CARES Act amendment still be required?

Even if no one could have used any CARES provision, perhaps checking the boxes of your IRS-preapproved documents provider’s form for a CARES amendment (showing the user adopted nothing) is less expensive than writing a memo to explain why no amendment is needed.

Have you filed tax returns? Might it be easier to just write a new plan?

If the provisions are required rather than optional then do the amendment - it matters not if someone actually have taken advantage of it.

Did the Plan offer CARES features to participants or implement any of the changes like no 2020 RMDs? If not my understanding is the CARES provisions were optional and not required so if you didn't offer it you don't have any required CARES Amendment. If you offered it but nobody took advantage, you then need a conforming amendment.

Is my understanding incorrect on this?

Thank you all for the responses on this! After listening to the latest ERISApedia webinar last week on the extended amendment deadlines, Derrin Watson confirmed that if the plan did NOT utilize any of the CARES Act provisions (or offer it), that the CARES Act amendment is not required. In this particular situation, it appears this would apply and this plan would not be required to complete the CARES Act amendment. Conservatively, it would make sense to just complete the CARES Act amendment regardless -- to have a record showing the plan elected to not allow for any of the CARES Act provisions.

@Bird Thanks for the suggestion -- I may look into that more.