WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/SCM/N/1/MKD/1/Suppl.1 
28 September 2005 
 (05-4277) 
Committee on Subsidies and  
Countervailing Measures Original:   English 
 
 
  
 
NOTIFICATION OF LAWS AND REGULATIONS UNDER 
ARTICLE 32.6 OF THE AGREEMENT 
 
FORMER YUGOSLAV REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA 
 
Supplement
 
 
 The following communication, dated 15 September 2005, is being circulated at the request of 
the Delegation of the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. 
 
_______________ 
 
 
 With reference to Article 32.6 of the Agre ement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures, 
the Government of the Republic of Macedonia subm its the Decision on Procedure and the Method of 
Determination of Countervailing Duty No. 19-1422/1 of  25 April 1005, relevant to the Agreement.  
The Decision was published in the Official Gazette  Nos. 28/2005 of 28 April 2005.  An unofficial 
translation of the Decision is enclosed. 
 
  G/SCM/N/1/MKD/1/Suppl.1 
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  Pursuant to Article 47, paragraph 7 of th e Law on Trade (Official Gazette 16/2004) and 
Article 36, paragraph 3 of the Law on the Governme nt of the Republic of Macedonia (Official Gazette 
Nos. 59/2000 and 12/2003), th e Government of the Republic of Macedonia on its session held on 
25 April 1005 has adopted  
 
DECISION 
on Procedure and Method of Dete rmination of Countervailing Duty 
  
Article 1 
 
 This Decision sets up the procedure and the me thod of determination of  countervailing duty. 
  
Article 2 
Principles 
 
1. The Commission on Protective Measures against Increased and Subsidized Imports (hereinafter:  the Commission) shall propose to the Government of the Republic of Macedonia to 
impose a countervailing duty on products importe d into the Republic of Macedonia when, it 
determines pursuant to an investig ation initiated and conducted that the product is subsidized and that 
there is injury to the domestic industry and a causal link within the meaning of Article 3 and 8 of this 
Decision.  2. For the purposes of this Decision,  a product is considered to be subsidized if it benefits from a 
countervailable subsidy as defined in Articles 3 and 4. 
 3. The subsidy may be granted by the government  of the country of origin of the imported 
product, or by the government of an intermediate country from which the product is exported to the 
Republic of Macedonia (hereinafter:  the country of export).  
 The term "government" is defined, for the pur poses of this Decision, as a government or any 
public body within the territory of the country of origin or export.  4. The term "like product" shall be interpreted to  mean a product which is identical, i.e. alike in 
all respects, to the product under consideration, or in the absence of such a product, another product 
which, although not alike in all respects, has char acteristics closely resembling those of the product 
under consideration.   
Article 3 
Definition of a subsidy 
 
 A subsidy shall be deemed to exist if:  1. (a) there is a financial contribution by a government in the country of origin or export, 
i.e. where: 
 
  (i) a government practice involves a direct  transfer of funds (e.g. grants, loans, 
equity infusion), potential direct transfers of funds liabilities (e.g. loan guarantees); 
  G/SCM/N/1/MKD/1/Suppl.1 
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   (ii) government revenue that is otherw ise due is forgone or not collected (e.g. 
fiscal incentives such as tax credits); 
   (iii) a government provides goods or servi ces other than general infrastructure, or 
purchases goods; 
 
  (iv) a government makes payments to a funding mechanism, or entrusts or directs 
a private body to carry out one or more of the type of functions illustrated in points (i), (ii), and (iii) which would normally be vested in the government 
and the practice, in no real sense, differs from practices normally followed by 
governments; 
  (b) there is any form of income or price support within the meaning of Article XVI of the 
GATT 1994; and 
 
2. a benefit is thereby conferred. 
  
Article 4 
Countervailable subsidies 
 
1. Subsidies shall be subject to countervailing me asures only if they are specific, as defined in 
paragraphs 2, 3 and 4 of this Article.  2. In order to determine whether a subsidy is sp ecific to an enterprise or industry or group of 
enterprises or industries (hereinafter:  certain enterprises), the following principles shall apply: 
 
 (a) subsidies shall be considered specific where the granting authority or regulations 
pursuant to which subsidies are granted lim it access to subsidies to certain entities; 
  (b) subsidies shall not be considered specifi c where the granting authority or regulations 
pursuant to which subsidies are granted establish objective criteria or conditions for 
subsidy granting, the subsidy amounts as well as when th e conditions are prescribed 
by specific regulation and when access to subs idy is available to all entities that meet 
requirements of criteria or conditions; 
  (c) if, notwithstanding an appearance of non- specificity resulting from the application of 
principles laid down in subparagraphs (a) and (b), there are reasons to believe that the 
subsidy may in fact be specific, other factor s may be considered that include:  use of a 
subsidy programme by a lim ited number of certain enterprises;  predominant use by 
certain enterprises;  the granting of disproportionately large amounts of subsidy to certain enterprises;  and the manner in which discretion has been exercised by the granting authority in the decision to grant a subsidy. 
 
3. A subsidy which is limited to certain ente rprises located within a designated geographical 
region within the jurisdiction of the granting authority shall be specific. 
 4. Notwithstanding paragraphs 2 and 3, the followi ng subsidies shall be deemed to be specific: 
 
 (a) subsidies contingent, in law or in fact, whether solely or as one of several other 
conditions, upon export performance; 
 G/SCM/N/1/MKD/1/Suppl.1 
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  (b) subsidies contingent, whether solely or  as one of several other conditions, upon the 
use of domestic over-imported goods. 
 5. Any determination of specificity under the provisions of this Article shall be clearly 
substantiated on the basis of positive evidence. 
 
 
Article 5 
Calculation of the amount of the countervailable subsidy 
  The amount of countervailable subsidies, shall be calculated in terms of the benefit conferred 
on the recipient which is found to exist during the inv estigation period.  Normally this period shall be 
the most recent accounting year of the beneficiary, but may be any other period of at least six months prior to the initiation of the investigation for whic h reliable financial and ot her relevant data are 
available. 
 
 
Article 6 
Calculation of benefit to the recipient 
 
 As regards the calculation of benefit to th e recipient, the following rules shall apply: 
 
 (a) government provision of equity capital sha ll not be considered to confer a benefit, 
unless the investment can be regarded as inconsistent with the usual investment practice of private investors; 
 
 (b) a loan by the government shall not be cons idered to confer a benefit, unless there is a 
difference between the amount that the firm receiving the loan pays on the government loan and the amount that the firm would pay for a comparable commercial loan which the firm could actually obtain on the market.  In that event the 
benefit shall be the difference between these two amounts; 
 
 (c) a loan guarantee by a government shall not be considered to confer a benefit, unless 
there is a difference between the amount that the firm receiving the guarantee pays on a loan guaranteed by the government and the amount that the firm would pay for a comparable commercial loan in the absence of  the government guarantee.  In this case 
the benefit shall be the difference betw een these two amounts, adjusted for any 
differences in fees; 
  (d) the provision of goods or services or purchase of goods by a government shall not be 
considered to confer a benefit, unless the provision is made for less than adequate remuneration or the purchase is made for mo re than adequate remuneration.  The 
adequacy of remuneration shall be determ ined in relation to prevailing market 
conditions for the product or service in question in the country of provision or 
purchase (including price, quality, availab ility, marketability, transportation and other 
conditions of purchase or sale). 
  
Article 7 
General provisions on calculation 
 
1. The amount of the countervailable subsidy sha ll be determined per unit of the subsidized 
product.  G/SCM/N/1/MKD/1/Suppl.1 
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 In establishing this amount the following elem ents may be deducted from the total subsidy: 
  (a) any application fee, or other costs ne cessarily incurred in order to qualify for, or 
obtain, the subsidy; 
 
 (b) export taxes, duties or other charges levied on the export of the product to the 
Republic of Macedonia specifically intended to offset the subsidy.   
  Where an interested party claims a deduction, it must prove that the claim is justified.  
2. Where the subsidy is not granted by refe rence to the quantities manufactured, produced, 
exported or transported, the amount  of countervailable subsidy shall be determined by allocating the 
value of the total subsidy, as appropriate, over the le vel of production, sales or exports of the products 
concerned during the investigation period.  
3. Where the subsidy can be linked to the acqui sition or future acquis ition of fixed assets, the 
amount of the countervailable subsidy shall be calcu lated by spreading the subsidy across a period, 
which reflects the normal depreciation of such assets.   Where the assets are non-depreciating, the subsid y shall be valued as an interest free loan. 
 
 
Article 8 
Determination of injury 
 
1. A determination of injury shall be based on positive evidence and shall involve an objective 
examination of: 
  (a) the volume of the subsidized imports a nd the effect of the subsidized imports on 
prices in the Macedonian market for like products;  and 
  (b) the consequent impact of those imports of the Macedonian industry. 
 
2. With regard to the volume of the subsidized  imports, consideration sh all be given to whether 
there has been a significant increase in subsidized imports, either in absolute terms or relative to 
production or consumption in the Republic of Macedoni a.  With regard to the effect of subsidized 
imports on prices, consideration shall be given to whether there has been significant price 
undercutting by the subsidized imports as compared with the price of a like product of Macedonian 
industry, or whether the effect of such imports is  otherwise to depress prices to a significant degree or 
prevent price increases which would otherwise have occurred, to a significant degree.  No one or 
more of these factors can necessarily give decisive guidance.  3. Where imports of a product from more than one country are simultaneously subject to 
countervailing duty investigations, the effects of su ch imports shall be cumulatively assessed only if it 
is determined that:   (a) the amount of countervailable subsidi es established in relation to the imports from 
each country is more than de minimis  as defined in Article 10, paragraph 6 and that 
the volume of imports from each country is not negligible;  and 
  (b) a cumulative assessment of the effects of the imports is appropriate in light of the 
conditions of competition between impor ted products and the conditions of 
competition between the imported produc ts and the like domestic product. G/SCM/N/1/MKD/1/Suppl.1 
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4. The examination of the impact of the s ubsidized imports on the domestic industry shall 
include an evaluation of all relevant economic f actors and indices having a bearing on the state of 
industry, including:  actual and potential decline in  production, sales, profits, output, market share, 
productivity, return on investments, utilization of capacity; factors affecting prices on domestic 
market;  actual and potential negative effects on cash  flow, inventories, employment, wages, growth, 
ability to raise capital or investments and, in th e case of agriculture, whet her there has been an 
increased burden on government support programmes.  Th is list is not exhaustive, nor can any one or 
more of these factors necessarily give decisive guidance.  
5. It must be demonstrated, that the subsidized  imports are causing injury.  A determination of a 
causal link between the subsidized imports and inju ry to the domestic industry shall be based on 
examination of all relevant evidence presented to the Commission.  The Commission shall also 
examine all other factors, than the subsidized imports , which at the same time are causing injury to the 
domestic industry, to ensure that the injury caused  by these other factors is not attributed to the 
subsidized imports. 
 6. The effect of the subsidized imports shall be assessed in relation to the domestic production of 
the like product when available data permit the sep arate identification of that production on the basis 
of such criteria as the production process, producers' sales and profits.  If such separate identification 
of that production is not possible, the effects of the subsidized imports shall be assessed by 
examination of the production of the narrowest group or range of products including the like product, 
for which the necessary information can be provided.   
Article 9 
Threat of injury 
 
 A determination of a threat of material injury shall be based on facts.  1. In making a determination regarding the existen ce of a threat of material injury, consideration 
should be given to, inter alia , such factors as: 
 
 (a) the nature of the subsidy or subsidies in  questions and the trade effects likely to arise 
therefrom; 
  (b) a significant rate of increase of subsid ized imports into the Republic of Macedonia 
indicating the likelihood of s ubstantially increased imports; 
  (c) sufficient freely disposable capacity of the exporter or an imminent substantial 
increase in such capacity indicating th e likelihood of substantially increased 
subsidized exports to the Republic of  Macedonia, account being taken of the 
availability of other export markets to absorb any additional exports; 
 
 (d) whether imports are entering at prices that would, to a significant degree, depress 
prices or prevent price increases which otherwise would have occurred, and would probably increase demand for further imports;  and 
 
 (e) inventories of the product being investigated. 
 2. No one of the factors listed above by itsel f can necessarily give decisive guidance but the 
totality of the factors considered must lead to the conclusion that furthe r subsidized exports are 
imminent and that, unless protective action is taken, material injury will occur.  G/SCM/N/1/MKD/1/Suppl.1 
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Article 10 
Initiation of proceedings 
 
1. An investigation shall be initiated upon a clai m determined in Article 47, paragraph 7 of the 
Law on Trade.   The claim as referred to in paragraph 1 of this  Article shall contain the following information: 
 
 - the claim company and description of the volume and value of the production of the 
domestic like product.  Where a claim is s ubmitted on behalf of the domestic industry, 
it shall identify the industry on behalf of which the claim is made by a list of all known producers of domestic like products (or associations of producers of the like products) and the description of the volume and value of the domestic production of 
the like products by such producers; 
  - a description of the products with pert aining tariff item (8 or 10 figures) and a 
description pursuant to the Customs Tariff Regulations; 
  - the names of the country or countries of origin and/or export in question, the identity 
of each known exporter or foreign producer and a list of known persons importing the 
product in question;  and 
  - information on the volume of imports, the effect of those imports on prices of the like 
product in the domestic market and the con sequent impact of the imports on the 
industry, as demonstrated by relevant factors having a bearing on the state of the 
industry, such as those listed in Article 8,  paragraphs 4 and 5 of this Decision. 
 2. The Commission shall, as far as possible, exam ine the accuracy and adequacy of the evidence 
provided in the claim, in order to determine wh ether there is sufficient evidence to justify the 
initiation of an investigation. 
 
3. An investigation shall not be initiated unless the Commission has determined, on the basis of 
an examination as to the degree of support for, or opposition to, the claim expressed by the domestic producers of the like product, that the claim has been made by or on behalf of the domestic industry.  The claim shall be considered to have been made by, or on behalf of, the domestic industry if it is 
supported by those domestic producers whose collectiv e output constitutes more than 50 per cent of 
the total production of the like product produced by  that portion of the domestic industry expressing 
either support for, or opposition to, the claim.   Investigation shall not be initiated when domestic producers expressly supporting the claim 
account for less than 25 per cent of total producti on of the like product produced by the domestic 
industry. 
 4. The Commission shall, unless a decision has been made to initiate an investigation, avoid any 
publicizing of the applicant seeking th e initiation of an investigation. 
 
 However, as soon as possible after receipt of a properly documented cl aim and in any event 
before the initiation of an investigation, the Comm ission shall notify the country of origin and/or 
export concerned, which shall be i nvited for consultations with the ai m of clarifying the situation as to 
matters referred to in claim and arriving at mutually agreed solution.  G/SCM/N/1/MKD/1/Suppl.1 
Page 8  
 
 5. A claim shall be rejected where there is insufficient evidence of either countervailable 
subsidies or of injury to ju stify proceeding with the case. 
 6. The Commission shall not initiate the investiga tion if it determines that the amount of subsidy 
is de minimis  or that the volume of subsidized imports is negligible. 
 
 The amount of subsidy shall be considered to be de minimis  if the subsidy is less than one per 
cent ad valorem . 
  The volume of subsidized imports from a particul ar country shall be considered negligible, if 
it represents less then three per cent of the total imports of like product in the Republic of Macedonia, 
unless imports from countries whose individual shares of total imports collectively account for more than seven per cent of the total imports of the like product in the Republic of Macedonia.  7. Where during proceeding shall be determin ed that there is sufficient evidence, the 
Commission shall initiate a proceeding and shall pub lish a notice in the "Official Gazette of the 
Republic of Macedonia".  8. The notice of initiation of the proceedings shall contain indication of the product and countries concerned, give a summary of the inform ation received, and provide that all relevant 
information is to be communicated to the Commis sion;  it shall state the periods within which 
interested party may make themselves known, presen t their views in writing and submit information, 
if such views and information are to be taken into account during the investigation;  it shall also state 
the period within which interested parties may apply to be heard by the Commission.  9. The Commission shall advise the exporters, impor ters and country of origin and/or export and 
other interested parties of the initiation of the proceedings. 
  
Article 11 
The investigation 
 
1. The investigation shall cover simultaneously subsidization and injury.  For this purpose the 
Commission shall deliver a questionnaire to all in terested parties considered to dispose with 
information and data relevant for implementation of investiga tion, including known domestic 
producers, importers, exporters  and foreign producers. 
 
2. Exporters and foreign produ cers receiving questionnaires shall be obliged to deliver the 
replies within 30 days from the receipt of the ques tionnaire.  The day of receipt of the questionnaire 
shall be deemed the seventh day from the day on wh ich it was sent to the respondent or transmitted to 
the appropriate diplomatic representative of  the country of origin and/or export. 
  At the request of exporters or foreign producers, the Commission may extend the 30-day 
period provided that due cause for such extension exists. 
 3. The Commission may carry out investigations in third countries as required, provided that it 
obtains the agreement of the firms concerned, that it notifies the country in question and that the latter 
does not object to the investigation. 
 
4. The interested parties which have made them selves known, during the investigation, shall be 
heard if they have, within the period prescribed in the notice published in the Official Gazette of the 
Republic of Macedonia, made a written request for a hearing showing that they are interested party  G/SCM/N/1/MKD/1/Suppl.1 
 Page 9 
 
 
 likely affected by the result of the proceeding and th at there are particular reasons why they should be 
heard.  5. Opportunities shall, on request, be provided for the importers, exporters and the applicants 
and the government of the country of origin and/ or export, to meet those parties having adverse 
interests, so that opposing views may be presented an d rebuttal arguments offered.  Provision of such 
opportunities must take account of the need to pr eserve confidentiality and of the convenience to the 
parties.  6. Except in circumstances provided in Article 23 of this Decision, the information which is 
supplied by interested parties and upon which finding s are based shall be examined for accuracy as far 
as possible.  7. In case the interested parties reject to gi ve information or do not deliver them in the 
prescribed period, the Commission shall take a decision on the basis of available facts. 
 
8. An investigation shall, except in special circumstances, be concluded by the Commission 
within one year, and in no case more than 18 months after its initiation.   
Article 12 
Provisional countervailing duty 
 
1. The Commission shall propose to the Governme nt of the Republic of Macedonia to take a 
Decision on provisional countervailing duty if:  
 (a) proceeding have been initiated and inte rested party have been given adequate 
opportunities to submit the information and make comments; 
  b) a provisional affirmative determination h as been made that a subsidy exist and that 
there is injury to a domestic industry caused by subsidized imports;  and 
 
 c) such measure is necessary to prev ent injury during the investigation. 
 2. The amount of the provisional countervailing duty shall not exceed the total amount of the subsidy as provisionally established, but it should be less than this amount, if such lesser duty would 
be adequate to remove the in jury to the domestic industry. 
 
3. When the Government of the Republic of  Macedonia shall impose provisional countervailing 
duty, the payment of this duty shall be the cond ition for releasing the goods for free circulation into 
the Republic of Macedonia.  4. The provisional countervailing duty shall be applied no earlier than 60 days from the 
initiation of the proceedings, and shall appl y for a maximum period of four months. 
  
Article 13 
Undertakings 
 
1. Investigation may be terminated wit hout imposition of provisional or definitive 
countervailing duty upon receipt of  undertakings under which: 
 G/SCM/N/1/MKD/1/Suppl.1 
Page 10  
 
  a) the country of origin and/or export agrees to eliminate or limit the subsidy or take 
other measures concerning its effects;  or 
  b) the exporter agrees to revise its prices or  to cease the exports so that the Commission 
is convinced that injuries effect of the subs idy is eliminated.  Price increases shall not 
be higher than is necessary to offset the amount of the subsidy. 
 2. Undertakings may be suggested by the Commission, but no country or exporter shall be obliged to enter into such an undertaking. 
 
3. Undertakings, under paragraphs  1 and 2 of this Article, shall not be sought or accepted from 
countries or exporters unless a provisional affirmativ e determination of subsidization and injury 
caused by such subsidization has been made.  4. The Commission need not accept undertakings offered if their acceptance is considered 
impractical (such as where the number of actual or potential exporters is too great or for other 
reasons).  In that case, the exporter and/or country of origin may be provided by the Commission, with the reasons to reject the offer of an undertaking.  5. If undertakings are accepted, the investigation of subsidization and injury shall normally be 
completed.  In such case, if a negative determin ation of subsidization or injury is made, the 
undertaking shall automatically lapse. 
 6. The Commission shall require any country or  exporter from whom undertakings have been 
accepted to provide, periodically, information relevant  to the fulfilment of such undertaking, and to 
permit verification of pertinent da ta.  Non-compliance with such re quirements shall be construed as a 
breach of the undertaking. 
 7. In the case of breach or withdrawal of unde rtakings, a definitive countervailing duty shall be 
imposed, on the basis of the facts established within the context of the investigation, provided that 
such investigation was concluded with a final dete rmination as to subsidiza tion and injury, and that 
the exporter concerned, or the county of origin and/or export, has been given an opportunity to 
comment. 
 8. A notice of undertakings with relevant elements  shall be published in the Official Gazette of 
the Republic of Macedonia.  
 
Article 14 
Termination without measures 
 
1. The request under Article 47, paragraph 2 of the Law on Trade may be withdrawn at any time 
after an investigation has been initiated in which case, the Commission shall terminate the 
investigation without proposal for imposition of duties,  unless it determines that it is in the interest of 
the Republic of Macedonia to continue the investigation.  2. The investigation shall be  terminated at an y time where the Commission is satisfied that there 
is no sufficient evidence of either subsidization or injury to justify proceeding with the case. 
 
  G/SCM/N/1/MKD/1/Suppl.1 
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 Article 15 
Imposition of countervailing duty 
 
1. Where the facts show the existence of counter vailable subsidy and injury caused thereby, the 
Commission pursuant to Article 47, paragraph 2 of the Law on Trade, may propose to the 
Government of the Republic of Macedonia to pass a decision on imposition of definitive 
countervailing duty.  2. A definitive countervailing duty shall be imposed  in the appropriate amount in each case, on a 
non-discriminatory basis, on imports of products fro m all sources found to benefit from subsidies and 
causing injury, except as to imports from those s ources which have renounced any subsidy and from 
which undertakings have been accepted.  3. The countervailing duty shall not exceed th e amount of the countervailable subsidy and 
should be less than the total amount of the subsidy, if  such lesser duty was to be adequate to remove 
the injury to the domestic industry. 
 4. If the provisional countervailing duty is lowe r than the definitive countervailing duty, the 
difference shall not be collected.  If the provisiona l countervailing duty is higher than the definitive 
countervailing duty, the difference shall be returned.  
5. When the Commission has limited its examina tion, any countervailing duty applied to imports 
from exporters or producers, which have made themselves known in accordance with Article 22 of 
this Decision, but were not included in the examin ation shall not exceed the weighted average amount 
of countervailable subsidies established for the parties in the sample.  
6. For the purpose of this Article, the Commission shall disregard any zero and de minimis  
amounts of countervailable subsidies and amounts of  countervailable subsidies established in the 
circumstances referred to in Article 23 of this Decisi on.  Individual duties shall be applied to imports 
from any exporter or producer for which an indivi dual amount of subsidization has been calculated as 
provided for in Article 22 of this Decision.  
 
Article 16 
Decision on countervailing duty 
 
 The Decision on imposition of provisional or definitive countervailing duty by the 
Government of the Republic of Macedonia, shall be published in the "Official Gazette of the Republic 
of Macedonia".   The Decision referred to in paragra ph 1 of this Article shall contain: 
  - Description of imported product, the tariff classification (8 or 10 digits) and a 
description pursuant to Customs Tariff Regulations; 
 - Determined amount of subsidy and the b asis on which the existence of a subsidy was 
determined; 
 - Data on determined injury based on evidences;  - The amount of countervailing duty; 
 - Duration of countervailing duty; 
 - Date from which the countervailing duty shall apply;  - The name of the exporter to which the decision relates; and  - If the decision relates to more exporters from the same country, and it is not possible 
to enlist them separately, only the exporting country is stated. G/SCM/N/1/MKD/1/Suppl.1 
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Article 17 
Retroactivity 
 1. Provisional and definitive countervailing duties shall only be applied to products that are 
imported for consumption after the time when th e Decision, under paragraph 1 of Article 12 and 
paragraph 1 of Article 15, enters into force.  2. As an exception to paragraph 1 of this Artic le, where a provisional duty has been applied, and 
the facts as finally established show the existenc e of countervailable subsidies and injury, the 
Commission shall propose to the Government of the Republic of Macedonia to pass a decision for 
collection of provisional duty.  In that case, the de finitive duty may be imposed only from the date on 
which a final determination of threat of injury or material retardation to domestic production is made. 
 
3. A definitive countervailing duty may be retro actively imposed on products that were imported 
for consumption not more than 90 days prior to the date of application of the provisional duty, but not 
prior to the initiation of the investigation, provided  that the importers concerned have been given an 
opportunity to comment.  4. Definitive countervailing duty referred to in pa ragraph 3 of this Article may be imposed if: 
 
 (a) injury which is difficult to repair is caused by massive imports in a relatively short 
period of a product benefiting from countervailable subsidies;  and 
  (b) it is necessary, in order to preclude the recurrence of such injury, to impose a 
definitive countervailing duty. 
  
Article 18 
Duration 
 1. A countervailing duty shall remain in force only as long as, and to the extent that, it is 
necessary to counteract the subsidized  imports which is causing injury. 
 2. A countervailing duty shall expire at latest fi ve years from its imposition or from the date of 
the most recent review, pursuant to Article 19 of  this Decision, if such review has covered both 
subsidization and injury. 
 3. The Commission shall, no later than 90 days preceding the date of expiry of the countervailing duty, publish a notice announcing the expiry of the duty in the Official Gazette in the 
Republic of Macedonia.  
4. An expiry review shall be initiated on the initiative of the Commission, or upon a request 
made by or on behalf of the domestic industry.  5. An expiry review shall be initiated where the request contains sufficient evidence that expiry 
of the duty would be likely to result in a conti nuation or recurrence of subsidization and injury. 
 
6. The review request, pursuant to  paragraph 4 of this Article, shall be submitted no later than 
three months before the end of expiration of the measure.  7. The countervailing duty shall remain in fo rce pending the outcome of such review.  G/SCM/N/1/MKD/1/Suppl.1 
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Article 19 
Interim reviews 
 1. An interim review during validity of duty may be initiated by the Commission upon its own 
initiative or upon a request by any exporter, impor ter or by the domestic industry which contains 
sufficient evidence substantiating the need for such an interim review. 
 2. The review referred to in para graph 1 of this Article shall be initiated if the request contains 
sufficient evidence that the continued application of duty is no longer necessary to offset the subsidy, 
or that the injury would be unlikely to continue or recur if the duty were removed or varied.  3. The review shall also be initiated if the requ est contains evidence that existing duty is not, or 
is no longer, sufficient to counteract the effect of subsidized imports, which is causing injury. 
 
4. The review referred to in paragraph 1 of this  Article shall be concluded within one year, and 
at latest within 15 months from the date of the initiation of the review.  5. Any exporter whose exports are subject to a definitive countervailing duty but who was not 
individually investigated during the original investig ation for reasons other than refusal to cooperate 
shall be entitled upon request to an  accelerated review in order that the Commission may promptly 
establish an individual countervailing duty for that exporter.   
Article 20 
Confidentiality 
 
1. Any information which is by nature confidentia l, or which is provided on a confidential basis 
by parties to an investigation shall, if good cau se is shown, be treated as such by the Commission. 
 2. Interested parties providing confidential in formation shall be required by the Commission to 
furnish non-confidential summaries thereof.  Those summaries shall be in sufficient detail to permit a 
reasonable understanding of the substance of the information submitted in confidence. 
 3. If it is considered that a request for confiden tiality is not warranted and if the supplier of the 
information is either unwilling to make it available or to authorize its disclosure in generalized or 
summarized form, the Commission may disregard such information. 
 4. This Article shall not preclude the disclosur e of general information by the Commission, and 
in particular of the reasons on which decisions  taken pursuant to this Decisions are based, nor 
disclosure of the evidence in so far as is necessar y to explain those reasons in court proceedings.  
Such disclosures must take into account the legitimat e interests of the parties concerned that their 
business or governmental secrets should not be divulged. 
 
 
Article 21 
Verification of information 
 
1. The Commission shall, where it considers it appropriate, examine the records of importers, exporters, traders, agents, producers, trade associ ations and organizations to verify information 
provided on subsidization and injury.  G/SCM/N/1/MKD/1/Suppl.1 
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 2. The Commission may carry out investigations in third countries as required, provided that it 
obtains the agreement of the firms concerned, that  it notifies the representatives of the government of 
the country in question and provided that they do not object to the investigation.  As soon as the agreement of the firms concerned has been obtai ned the Commission should notify the country of 
origin and/or export of the names and addresses of the firms to be visited and the dates agreed. 
 
3. The firms concerned shall be advised of the na ture of the information to be verified during 
verification visits and of any further information, wh ich needs to be provided during such visits.  This 
should not preclude requests made during the verificati on for further details to be provided in the light 
of the information obtained. 
 
4. In investigations carried out pursuant to paragr aphs 1, 2 and 3 of this Article, the Commission 
shall be assisted by officials of the count ries where the verification has been made. 
  
Article 22 
Sampling 
 
1. In cases where the number of producers, exporters or importers, types of product or transactions is large, the investigation may be limited to:  
 (a) a reasonable number of parties, products or transactions by using samples which are 
statistically valid on the basis of information available at the time of the selection;  or 
  (b) to the largest representative volume of the production, sales or export which can 
reasonably be investigated within the time available. 
 
2. The selection of parties, types of products or transactions made under this Article shall rest 
with the Commission, though preference shall be give n to choosing a sample in consultation with, and 
with the consent of, the parties concerned, prov ided that such parties make themselves known and 
make sufficient information available, within three weeks of initiation of the investigation. 
 
3. In cases where the examination h as been limited in accordance with  this Article, an individual 
amount of countervailable subsidizati on shall, nevertheless, be calcul ated for any exporter or producer 
not initially selected who submits the necessary information within th e time limits provided for in this 
Decision, except where the number of exporters or producers is so large that individual examinations 
would be unduly burdensome and would pr event completion of the investigation. 
 
4. Where it is decided to sample and there is a degree of non-cooperation by some or all of the 
parties selected which is likely to material affect the outcome of the investigation, a new sample may 
be selected.  If a material degree of non-cooperation pe rsist or there is insufficient time to select a new 
sample, the relevant provisions of Artic le 23 of this Decision shall apply. 
 
 
Article 23 
Non-cooperation 
 
1. In cases in which any interested party re fuses access to, or otherwise does not provide, 
necessary information within the time limits provided in this Decision, or significantly impedes the 
investigation, provisional or final findings, affirmat ive or negative, may be made on the basis of the 
facts available.   G/SCM/N/1/MKD/1/Suppl.1 
 Page 15 
 
 
  Where it is found that any interested party has supplied false or misleading information, the 
information shall be disregarded and use may be made of the facts available.   Interested parties should be made awar e of the consequences of non-cooperation. 
 
2. Failure to give a computerized response sh all not be deemed to constitute non-cooperation, 
provided that the interested party shows that pr esenting the response as requested would result in an 
unreasonable extra burden or additional cost.  3. Where the information submitted by an interest ed party is not ideal in all respects it should 
nevertheless not be disregarded, provided that  any deficiencies are not such as to cause undue 
difficulty in arriving at a reasonably accurate fi nding and that the information is appropriately 
submitted in good time.  4. If evidence or information is not accepted, the supplying party shall be informed forthwith of 
the reasons therefore and shall be granted an opport unity to provide further explanations within the 
time limit specified.  If the explanations are consid ered unsatisfactory, the reasons for rejection of 
such evidence or information shall be disclosed and given in the findings. 
 5. The Commission may check the information s upplied form other independent sources, such 
as published price lists, official import statistics a nd customs returns, or information obtained from 
other interested parties during the investigati on, which is important for determination of 
countervailable subsidy.   
Article 24 
Final provisions 
 
 This Decision shall enter into force on the eighth day from its publication in the "Official 
Gazette of the Republic of Macedonia".  
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