diff --git a/compiler/cli/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/cli/common/CLICompiler.java b/compiler/cli/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/cli/common/CLICompiler.java
index ae1dd2c445c..9f910379fbd 100644
--- a/compiler/cli/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/cli/common/CLICompiler.java
+++ b/compiler/cli/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/cli/common/CLICompiler.java
@@ -247,11 +247,15 @@ public abstract class CLICompiler<A extends CommonCompilerArguments> {
             // If only "-api-version" is specified, language version is assumed to be the latest
             languageVersion = LanguageVersion.LATEST;
         }
+
         if (apiVersion == null) {
             // If only "-language-version" is specified, API version is assumed to be equal to the language version
             // (API version cannot be greater than the language version)
             apiVersion = languageVersion;
         }
+        else {
+            configuration.put(CLIConfigurationKeys.IS_API_VERSION_EXPLICIT, true);
+        }
 
         if (apiVersion.compareTo(languageVersion) > 0) {
             configuration.getNotNull(CLIConfigurationKeys.MESSAGE_COLLECTOR_KEY).report(
@@ -281,8 +285,7 @@ public abstract class CLICompiler<A extends CommonCompilerArguments> {
                         languageVersion,
                         ApiVersion.createByLanguageVersion(apiVersion),
                         arguments.skipMetadataVersionCheck,
-                        extraLanguageFeatures,
-                        arguments.apiVersion != null
+                        extraLanguageFeatures
                 )
         );
     }
diff --git a/compiler/cli/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/cli/common/CLIConfigurationKeys.java b/compiler/cli/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/cli/common/CLIConfigurationKeys.java
index 69aef735300..60a80e4dc6d 100644
--- a/compiler/cli/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/cli/common/CLIConfigurationKeys.java
+++ b/compiler/cli/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/cli/common/CLIConfigurationKeys.java
@@ -29,6 +29,8 @@ public class CLIConfigurationKeys {
             CompilerConfigurationKey.create("allow kotlin package");
     public static final CompilerConfigurationKey<Boolean> REPORT_PERF =
             CompilerConfigurationKey.create("report performance information");
+    public static final CompilerConfigurationKey<Boolean> IS_API_VERSION_EXPLICIT =
+            CompilerConfigurationKey.create("is API version explicit");
 
     // Used in Eclipse plugin (see KotlinCLICompiler)
     public static final CompilerConfigurationKey<CompilerJarLocator> COMPILER_JAR_LOCATOR =
diff --git a/compiler/cli/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/cli/jvm/JvmRuntimeVersionsConsistencyChecker.kt b/compiler/cli/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/cli/jvm/JvmRuntimeVersionsConsistencyChecker.kt
index 99d92c90877..d8f3e256f45 100644
--- a/compiler/cli/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/cli/jvm/JvmRuntimeVersionsConsistencyChecker.kt
+++ b/compiler/cli/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/cli/jvm/JvmRuntimeVersionsConsistencyChecker.kt
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ package org.jetbrains.kotlin.cli.jvm
 import com.intellij.openapi.diagnostic.Logger
 import com.intellij.openapi.vfs.VfsUtilCore
 import com.intellij.openapi.vfs.VirtualFile
+import org.jetbrains.kotlin.cli.common.CLIConfigurationKeys
 import org.jetbrains.kotlin.cli.common.messages.CompilerMessageLocation
 import org.jetbrains.kotlin.cli.common.messages.CompilerMessageSeverity
 import org.jetbrains.kotlin.cli.common.messages.MessageCollector
@@ -120,7 +121,7 @@ object JvmRuntimeVersionsConsistencyChecker {
             val actualApi = ApiVersion.parse(actualRuntimeVersion.toString())
             if (actualApi != null) {
                 val inferredApiVersion =
-                        if (@Suppress("DEPRECATION") languageVersionSettings.isApiVersionExplicit)
+                        if (configuration.getBoolean(CLIConfigurationKeys.IS_API_VERSION_EXPLICIT))
                             languageVersionSettings.apiVersion
                         else
                             // "minOf" is needed in case when API version was inferred from language version and it's older than actualApi.
diff --git a/compiler/tests-common/org/jetbrains/kotlin/checkers/BaseDiagnosticsTest.kt b/compiler/tests-common/org/jetbrains/kotlin/checkers/BaseDiagnosticsTest.kt
index 437f2aba752..d28f526b61a 100644
--- a/compiler/tests-common/org/jetbrains/kotlin/checkers/BaseDiagnosticsTest.kt
+++ b/compiler/tests-common/org/jetbrains/kotlin/checkers/BaseDiagnosticsTest.kt
@@ -109,9 +109,6 @@ abstract class BaseDiagnosticsTest : KotlinMultiFileTestWithJava<TestModule, Tes
                 languageFeatures[feature] ?: delegate.getFeatureSupport(feature)
 
         override val skipMetadataVersionCheck: Boolean get() = false
-
-        override val isApiVersionExplicit: Boolean
-            get() = error("Must not be called")
     }
 
     inner class TestFile(
diff --git a/compiler/util/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/config/LanguageVersionSettings.kt b/compiler/util/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/config/LanguageVersionSettings.kt
index 54beb75cf76..eb6c34f0ea6 100644
--- a/compiler/util/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/config/LanguageVersionSettings.kt
+++ b/compiler/util/src/org/jetbrains/kotlin/config/LanguageVersionSettings.kt
@@ -112,17 +112,13 @@ interface LanguageVersionSettings {
     val languageVersion: LanguageVersion
 
     val skipMetadataVersionCheck: Boolean
-
-    @Deprecated("This is a temporary solution, please do not use.")
-    val isApiVersionExplicit: Boolean
 }
 
 class LanguageVersionSettingsImpl @JvmOverloads constructor(
         override val languageVersion: LanguageVersion,
         override val apiVersion: ApiVersion,
         override val skipMetadataVersionCheck: Boolean = false,
-        private val specificFeatures: Map<LanguageFeature, LanguageFeature.State> = emptyMap(),
-        override val isApiVersionExplicit: Boolean = false
+        private val specificFeatures: Map<LanguageFeature, LanguageFeature.State> = emptyMap()
 ) : LanguageVersionSettings {
     override fun getFeatureSupport(feature: LanguageFeature): LanguageFeature.State {
         specificFeatures[feature]?.let { return it }