The rule most certainly has been implemented !
Last May my MEP/IR had expired by a couple of weeks, if that, and although I had done it the previous year in a twin, I had to do it in a twin again. Once it's expired it's classed as a renewal, not a revalidation. This year I revalidated it 1 week before it expired but because it was done in the plane last year I was able to renew in a sim !!