. /.   WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/ADP/AHG/W/175/Rev.2 
17 April 2007 
 (07-1551) 
Committee on Anti-Dumping Practices 
Working Group on Implementation  
 
 
 
DRAFT RECOMMENDATION CONCERNING  
THE CONDUCT OF VERIFICATIONS 
 
Revision  
 
  The Committee notes that Article 6.7 of the Ag reement on Implementation of Article VI of 
GATT 1994 envisages that investigating authoriti es may carry out on-the-spot investigations 
(hereinafter "verifications") in the territory of ot her Members in order to verify or obtain further 
details about information submitted.  The Committee recognizes that the conduct of such verifications 
is not mandatory, and that investigating authorities intending to carry out such verifications must 
obtain the agreement of the firms concerned and canno t proceed when there is an objection on the part 
of the government of the Member in question. 
The Committee is mindful that Annex I of the Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of 
GATT 1994 contains a series of procedures that Me mbers conducting verifications must apply and 
comply with, and that the results of verifications must be made available or disclosed to the firms 
investigated, and may be made available to the a pplicants, subject to the requirement to protect 
confidentiality. 
The Committee notes that the Ag reement on Implementation of Article VI of GATT 1994 
does not prescribe any detailed rules about when or  how firms and governments should be notified of 
an investigating authority's intention to conduct a ve rification.  Nor does it specify in detail either the 
manner in which the results should be  made available or disclosed, nor the precise contents thereof.  
In practice, Members follow a variety of appro aches when addressing these particular aspects of the 
verification process.  The Committee recognizes that these variances may reflect the particularities of 
different national legal structures and/or systems of anti-dumping administration.  Nonetheless, the 
Committee considers that it would be useful to adopt  a recommendation in relation to these particular 
aspects of the verification process with a view to enhancing transparency. 
In the light of the foregoing considerations, the Committee recommends that, in applying the 
provisions of Article 6.7 and Annex I of the Ag reement on Implementation of Article VI of GATT 
1994, Members should comply with the following: 
(a) Notification of [General] Intention to Conduct a Verification
 
An investigating authority should provide  the firms concerned and the relevant 
Member governments[, where practicable,] [at least 30 days] [normally, at least 30 days] [normally at least 30 days and wh ere that proves to be impracticable, the 
investigating authority will need to provid e an explanation and to give due allowance 
to the firms that will need to prepare for the visit within a shorter period of time] [a G/ADP/AHG/W/175/Rev.2 
Page 2  
 
  reasonable period of] advance written notice of any intention to conduct a 
verification.[
1] 
The firms concerned should be given a r easonable period of time to agree, and the 
Member governments to object, to the inves tigating authority's intention to conduct a 
verification.  
 
(b) Notification of Information and Documentation to Be Verified  
[Once an investigating authority has received  the agreement of a firm to a verification 
visit,] [I]n order to allow the firms c oncerned adequate time to prepare for the 
verification, the investigating authority s hould provide its intended programme for the 
verification  including details on the nature of the information and documents to be 
verified[, where practicable,] [normally] no later than [10] [15] days prior to the proposed date of commencement of the verification.  Where it is not practicable to provide the intended programme to the firms with at least [10] [7] days' notice, it 
shall be provided within a reasonable period of time before the commencement of the 
verification. 
(c) Disclosure to Firms Subject to Verification
 
Investigating authorities should disclose or ma ke available to the firms concerned, a 
full and detailed report of the verification [i n sufficient time to allow parties to defend 
their interests] [no later than 15 days afte r completion of the verification, but in any 
case no later than 20 days before the disclosure made in accordance with Article 6.9 
of the Agreement on Implementation of Article VI of GATT 1994.] [as soon as 
practicable, but in no case later than [15] [20] days, after completion of the verification.][
2] [within a reasonable period of tim e.][within a reasonable period of 
time before the final determination is made.] [20 days before disclosure under 
Article 6.9 of the Agreement on Implem entation of Article VI of GATT 1994.] 
The firms concerned should be provided w ith an opportunity to comment [within a 
reasonable period of time] on the verification report[, before it is finalized].  A copy 
of the finalized verification repor t should be provided to the firms 
[verified][concerned] in sufficient time to defend their interests.  The firms concerned should be requested to identify any confidential information 
appearing in the finalized verification report. 
 
(d) [Disclosure to Other Interested Parties
 
A non-confidential version of the verifica tion report shall, upon request, be made 
available to interested parties.]  
 
__________ 
                                                      
[[1 Notice of the intention to conduct a verification ma de known in the Exporter Questionnaire or in the 
cover letter thereto, shall be deemed to be sufficient advance written notice.] [ Should the notice of intention to 
conduct a verification be made known in the Notice of Initiation of an Investigation, exporters shall be reminded 
thereof in the Exporter Questionnaire or the cover letter thereto.]] 
[2 Whenever a verification visit to more than one [firm][interested party] is undertaken, completion of 
the "verification" is understood to mean the completion of the last of the verification visits to the individual 
firms concerned.]