Countervailing duty verifications are much less predictable than dumping verifications. As noted earlier, the scope of the verification needs to adjust to consider the specific programmes at issue. Loan programmes are very different from tax programmes, and equity infusions have little to do with either loan programmes or tax programmes.

One issue common to all countervailing duty verifications, however, is the need to show 'non-utilization'. In a typical countervailing duty petition, the domestic industry will make a wide range of allegations, in the hopes that some of the allegations will be applicable. It is therefore quite common for individual companies not to have used many of the programmes alleged to exist. If the programmes in fact exist, but the company simply did not use the programmes, the company will need to demonstrate that fact at verification. For some programmes - such as tax benefits - demonstrating non-utilization is easy. By showing a tax return that did not make the claim, the company can demonstrate the lack of utilization. For other programmes, proving the negative - that the programme was never used - can be more challenging. For example, an alleged government grant for some purpose may have been recorded on accounting records in a creative way, or may have gone to a subsidiary rather than the parent company. The foreign company must consider each instance of non-utilization on its own.

The most important difference for countervailing duty verifications is the two-stage process: the Commerce Department verifies both the foreign company and the foreign government. Unlike dumping cases, which involve only the foreign company, a major part of the countervailing duty investigation involves the foreign government. This aspect introduces another complication, since the foreign company has no control over the government verification. The government's failure to 'pass verification' could result in the foreign company being penalized in the investigation.

Source: Business Guide to Trade Remedies in the United States: Anti-dumping, countervailing and safeguards legislation practices and procedures