RESTRICTED
WORLD TRADE G/SCM/W/390
26April 1996
ORGANIZATION(96-1569)
Committee onSubsidies andCountervailing Measures
FORMAT FOR UPDATES OFNOTIFICATIONS UNDER ARTICLE 8.3
OFTHE AGREEMENT ONSUBSIDIES AND COUNTERVAILING MEASURES
Theattached paper wasproduced bytheWorking Party onSubsidies Notifications ofthe
Committee onSubsidies andCountervailing Measures.
Thetextofthepaper represents theconsensus oftheWorking Party, except withrespect to
paragraphs I.10, II.1,III.1, IV.1, andfootnotes 1,2and3ofthemain text,andparagraph 1of
Annexes 1,2and3.Inthese areas, Chairman 'stexthasbeenprovided
1. Toprovide forreview oftheformat within twoyears ofitsfirstuse.
2. Torequire theinclusion inthelistofprojects bothprojects approved andprojects forwhich
financial assistance hasbeendisbursed.
3. Todefine theterm"approved".
4. Toprovide fortheselection bylottery ofthesample ofprojects onwhich detailed information
willbeprovided.G/SCM/W/390
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Format forUpdates ofNotifications Under Article 8.3
oftheAgreement onSubsidies andCountervailing Measures
General Rules
1. ForeachprogrammenotifiedunderArticle8.3oftheAgreementonSubsidiesandCountervailing
Measures, provide alloftheinformation identified below thatapplies.
2. Totheextent thatassistance under anotified programme isprovided tospecific products or
sectors, organize theupdate notification byproduct orsector.
3. Foranyquestion forwhich noresponse isprovided, explain thelackofresponse.
4. Inanswering questions concerning changes inanotified programme, thereference pointshould
bethemost recent notification/update ofthatprogramme.
5. Ifnochanges ofthetypespecified inagiven question havebeenmade during therelevant
period, provide anaffirmative statement tothateffect inresponse tothatquestion.
6. Theduedateforeachyearly update notification shallbetheanniversary dateoftheoriginal
notification.
7. Statistical information reported ineachyearly update shallcover themost recent 12-month
period forwhich dataareavailable (theprogramme 'sfiscal year, e.g.), asoftheduedateforthe
notification. Thisperiod shallbeknown asthe"current year".
8. AllArticles referred tointhisformat areArticles oftheAgreement onSubsidies and
Countervailing Measures.
9. Asprovidedinfootnote34toArticle8.3,confidentialinformation,includingconfidentialbusiness
information, neednotbesubmitted innotifications under Article 8.3.
10. Within twoyears oftheCommittee 'sreceipt ofthefirstnotification ofthistype,theCommittee
shallreview thisformat withaviewtomaking allnecessary modifications inlightofexperience in
using theformat.
I. ForallProgrammes Notified under Article 8.3
1. Identify thestarting andending dates oftheannual period covered bytheupdate (referred to
inthisquestionnaire asthe"update year"), andofthecurrent year, aswellasthedateoftheoriginal
notification. With regard toallquestions concerning changes intheprogramme (marked withan
asterisk*), provide information fortheupdate year.
Forallother questions, concerning statistical programme data, information should relate to
thecurrent year, asdefined initem7ofthegeneral rules above.
2. Provide dataonglobal expenditures under theprogramme during thecurrent year.
3.* Provide details ofanychange inthepolicy objectives oftheassistance, including, ifapplicable,
anysectoral objectives.G/SCM/W/390
Page3
4.* Ifthere hasbeenanychange inthelaw,regulation and/or other legalinstrument under which
theassistance isprovided (including thecreation ofanynewlaw,regulation and/or legalinstrument)
provide anarrative explanation ofthenature andpurpose ofthechange. Alsoprovide acopyofsuch
law,regulation orother legalinstrument, withaclearidentification ofthetextthatreflects thechange.
Ifthese documents arenotinaWTO language, provide atranslation inEnglish, French, orSpanish
of(i)therelevant legalprovisions reflecting thechange, and(ii)thetableofcontents orrelevant chapter
headings ofthelaw,regulation and/or other legalinstrument.
5.* Providedetailsofanychangeinthelevel(s)ofgovernmentinvolvedintheprovisionofassistance
underthenotifiedprogramme,includinganychangeintheinstitutionalframeworkfortheimplementation
oftheprogramme and/or intheroleofnon-governmental entities, ifapplicable.
6.* Identify andexplain indetail anychange intheentities ortypes ofentities asappropriate,
industries,regions,etc.eligibleforassistanceundertheprogramme,and/orintheeligibilityrequirements
orapplication procedures under theprogramme. Provide allrelevant documentation reflecting the
change (e.g.brochures, application forms, etc.), including anynewly-created documents, totheextent
thatsuchdocumentation isnotalready provided inresponse toquestion I.3.
7.* Provide details ofanychange infinancing instruments, orintheincidence and/or duration
ofassistance under eachinstrument. ("Incidence" asusedheremeans towhom andhowtheassistance
isprovided, i.e.whether toproducers, users, orothers; through whatmechanism; whether afixed
orfluctuating amount perunit; ifthelatter, howdetermined.)
8.* Provide details ofanychange inthetotalamount ofassistance budgeted under theprogramme,
and/or inthetermination dateoftheprogramme ortheprojects financed thereunder.
9.* Provide details ofanychange inthearrangements formonitoring, auditing andevaluation of
theprogramme, including thecreation ofanysucharrangements.
II. ForNotified Assistance forResearch Activities
1. Forthecurrent year, identify theresearch areas andgivethetotalnumber ofprojects receiving
assistance. Forthecurrent year,provide ananonymous listofprojects thathavebeeninitially approved1
forreceipt offinancial assistance under thenotified programme, and/or forwhich financial assistance
hasbeendisbursed under theprogramme. Submit thelisttotheRules Division oftheWTO Secretariat
within 30daysaftertheendofthecurrent year. Inthelist,provide thefollowing information for
eachproject:
(a) Official name, codeorother identifier unique totheproject.
(b) Dateonwhich theproject wasinitially approved.
(c) Research areacovered.
(d) Whethertheprojectconsistsofindustrialresearch,pre-competitivedevelopmentactivity,
both, orneither.
1Theterm"approved" means thetimewhen, intheadministrative process leading tothegranting
ofasubsidy, afirmcommitment istaken bythegranting authority topayoutasubsidy.G/SCM/W/390
Page4
2.* Provide details ofanychange inthecontractual arrangements, ifrelevant, under which the
research isconducted.
3.* Provide adetailed description andexplanation ofanychange intheprogramme 'sstructure
and/or operation, toinclude inparticular:
(a) anychange inthetechnical description ofthespecific goals oftheresearch, inhow
theseactivities fallwithin thedefinitions of"industrial research" and"pre-competitive
development activity" infootnotes 28and29oftheSCM Agreement, and/or inthe
endresult oftheindustrial research;
(b) inthecaseofindustrial research, anychange inthenewknowledge being sought and/or
inthenewproducts, processes, orservices, orimprovements thereto, thatareintended
tobedeveloped using suchnewknowledge;
(c) inthecaseofpre-competitive development activity, anychange intheendresult of
such activity and/or inthewayinwhich existing products, production lines,
manufacturing processes, services orother on-going operations willbeaffected asa
result ofsuchactivity;
(d) inthecaseofaprototype, anychange inhowtheprototype willbedeveloped and/or
inthemodifications thatwould berequired tomake theprototype capable ofcommercial
use;
(e) anychangeintheamountsofassistancepermittedundertheprogrammefor(1)industrial
research and(2)pre-competitive development and/or inthemethodology used to
calculate thecosts ofsuchresearch/activity;
(f) anychange inthespecific types ofcostscovered bytheassistance, inthemethodology
usedtocalculate these costs, and/or inthemeans bywhich itisensured thatthe
assistance islimited exclusively tothecostsidentified initems (i)-(v) ofArticle 8.2(a);
(g) anychange inthemeans bywhich itisensured thattheassistance doesnotcover more
than75percentofthecosts ofindustrial research, 50percentofthecosts ofpre-
competitive development activity or,insituations referred toinfootnote 30,62.5per
centofthesumofthese costs.
4. Provide theinformation requested inAnnex 1.
III. ForNotified Assistance toDisadvantaged Regions Within theTerritory ofaMember
1. Listtheregions receiving assistance during thecurrent year, andanychange insuchregions
since themostrecent notification/update. Forthecurrent year, foreachassisted region, provide an
anonymous listofprojects thathavebeeninitially approved2forreceipt offinancial assistance under
thenotified programme, and/or forwhich financial assistance hasbeendisbursed under theprogramme.
Ifmore thanfiveregions areconcerned, thislistmaybeprovided forthefirstfiveregions only(in
alphabetical order) inthefirstupdate. Ineachsubsequent annual update, thisalphabetical listwill
beshifted forward byone,sothatinthesecond update information willbegiven onregions 2-6,in
2Theterm"approved" means thetimewhen, intheadministrative process leading tothegranting
ofasubsidy, afirmcommitment istaken bythegranting authority topayoutasubsidy.G/SCM/W/390
Page5
thethirdupdate onregions 3-7etc.returning tothebeginning when thelistisexhausted. Submit the
listtotheRules Division oftheWTO Secretariat within 30daysaftertheendofthecurrent year.
Inthelist,provide thefollowing information foreachproject:
(a) Official name, codeorother identifier unique totheproject.
(b) Dateonwhich theproject wasinitially approved.
2.* Provide adetailed description andexplanation ofanychange intheprogramme 'sstructure
and/or operation, toinclude inparticular:
(a) anychange intheceilings, expressed interms ofinvestment costs orcosts ofjob
creation, applicable totheamount ofassistance thatcanbeprovided toindividual
projects;
(b) anychange inthemethodology usedtocalculate theinvestment costsandcostsofjob
creation forpurposes ofapplying suchceilings;
(c) anychange inthemeans bywhich suchceilings havebeendifferentiated according
tothedifferent levels ofdevelopment oftheassisted regions;
(d) anychange intheceilings applicable todifferent eligible regions, asaresult ofchanges
inrelative levels ofdevelopment oftheassisted regions (relate anysuchchanges to
thecriteria inforce andthestatistical datagiven inparagraph 5);
(e) anychange inthegeographic boundaries and/or administrative identity ofanyeligible
region;
(f) anychange inanyprovisions thatmayexisttoavoid thepredominant useofasubsidy
by,orthegranting ofdisproportionately largeamounts ofsubsidy to,certain enterprises
asprovided forinArticle 2;
(g) anychange inthemeans bywhich itisensured thattheamount ofassistance doesnot
exceed theapplicable ceilings.
3.* Provide details ofanychange inthegeneral framework ofregional development pursuant to
which theassistance isgranted.
4.* Provide details ofanychange inthecriteria onthebasis ofwhich theassisted regions were
designated asdisadvantaged, including anychange intherelevant law(s)/regulation(s), inthe
measurement(s)ofeconomicdevelopmentusedinthosecriteriaand/orinthemethodologyforcalculating
suchmeasurement(s).
5. Provide thethreemostrecent years'statistical dataontherelevant economic criteria thatwere
usedindetermining thateachregion receiving assistance under theprogramme during thecurrent year
wasdisadvantaged.
6. Indicate, forthecurrent year, thetotalamounts ofassistance provided toeachregion covered
bytheprogramme for:
(1) jobcreation and/orG/SCM/W/390
Page6
(2) investments
plustheaidceiling foreachregion concerned.
7. Select oneassisted region, andforthatregion provide datatodemonstrate thatthedistribution
ofassistance inthecurrent yearhasbeensufficiently broad andeventoavoid thepredominant use
ofasubsidy by,orthegranting ofdisproportionately large amounts ofsubsidy to,certain enterprises
asprovided forinArticle 2.
Selection should bemade asfollows:
(a) Iflessthanfiveregions areinvolved, select thefirstinalphabetical order inthefirst
update, thesecond inthesecond update etc.,returning again tothebeginning when
allregions havebeencovered;
(b) Ifmore thanfiveregions areinvolved, choose theregion following thefiveselected
bytheprocedure inquestion III.1.
Iftheselection method results intheselection ofthesame region asintheprevious year, the
nextregion inalphabetical order should beselected.
8. Provide theinformation requested inAnnex 2.
IV. ForNotified Assistance toPromote Adaptation ofExisting Facilities toNewEnvironmental
Requirements
1. Forthecurrent year, provide ananonymous listofprojects thathavebeeninitially approved3
forreceipt offinancial assistance under thenotified programme, and/or forwhich financial assistance
hasbeendisbursed under theprogramme. Submit thelisttotheRules Division oftheWTO Secretariat
within 30daysaftertheendofthecurrent year. Inthelist,provide thefollowing information for
eachproject:
(a) Official name, codeorother identifier unique totheproject.
(b) Dateonwhich theproject wasinitially approved.
2.* Provide adetailed description andexplanation ofanychange intheprogramme 'sstructure
and/or operation, toinclude inparticular:
(a) anychange inthespecific newenvironmental requirements inconnection withwhich
theassistance isprovided;
(b) anychange inthetimeframe(s) forapplication ofthenewenvironmental requirements;
(c) anychange inthebasis onwhich theassistance isprovided (i.e.whether onthetotal
costofthereduction ofthenuisances orpollution oronanindividual phase of
implementation ofthenewenvironmental requirements);
3Theterm"approved" means thetimewhen, intheadministrative process leading tothegranting
ofasubsidy, afirmcommitment istaken bythegranting authority topayoutasubsidy.G/SCM/W/390
Page7
(d) anychangeintechnicaldescription(includinganyrefinementtoanearlier,moregeneral,
technical description) oftheadaptation ofexisting facilities necessary tomeetthenew
environmental requirements, and/or intheidentity ofthose facilities aspreviously
notified (question III(f) oforiginal notification format);
(e) anychange inthelaworregulation thatimposes thenewenvironmental requirements;
(f) anychange inthenuisances andpollution intended tobereduced bytherequirements,
and/or inhowtherequirements willresult insuchreduction;
(g) anychange inthelevelofgovernment atwhich therequirements areimposed;
(h) anychange inhowtherequirements result ingreater constraints andfinancial burdens
onfirms;
(i) anychange inthespecific types ofcosts covered bytheassistance and/or inthe
methodology usedtocalculate thecosts ofadaptation ofexisting facilities tothenew
environmental requirements;
(j) anychange inthemeans bywhich itisensured thattheassistance isaone-time, non-
recurring measure, thattheassistance islimited totheadaptation ofexisting facilities,
thattheassistance doesnotcover more than20percentofthecostsofthisadaptation,
thattheassistance isdirectly linked andproportionate toafirm'splanned reduction
ofnuisances andpollution, andthattheassistance doesnotcover anymanufacturing
costsavings thatmaybeachieved.
3. Provide theinformation requested inAnnex 3.G/SCM/W/390
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ANNEX 1
Research Activities
Either
1. From theanonymous listofprojects submitted totheRules Division under question II.1,the
Rules Division willidentify, byrandom lottery, fiveprojects. Thelottery willbeconducted immediately
uponreceipt ofthelistbytheRules Division, andtheresults immediately communicated tothenotifying
Member.
2. Foreachselected project, provide thefollowing information forthecurrent year:
(a) Theamount ofassistance for(i)industrial research and/or (ii)pre-competitive
development activity;
(b) Thepercentage ofeligible costs represented bytheassistance given for(i)industrial
research and(ii)pre-competitive development activity.
3. Alsoprovide theabove information forthewhole lifeoftheprojects concerned (using actual
datauptotheendofthecurrent yearandprojected dataforanyremainder oftheproject life,ifthis
ispracticable. Ifnotprojected datashould beused).
4. Ifanyofthefiveselected projects involve neither industrial research norpre-competitive
development activity, dropthatproject, andselect thenextproject onthelist(starting again fromthe
topifnecessary) which includes assistance toeither industrial research orpre-competitive development
activity (orboth). Foranysuchproject, provide theinformation requested in2and3.
Or
Ifitismore convenient toprovide theinformation requested in2and3forallprojects, these
datamaybegiven instead.G/SCM/W/390
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ANNEX 2
Assistance toDisadvantaged Regions
Either
1. From theanonymous listofprojects submitted totheRules Division under question III.1, the
Rules Division willidentify, byrandom lottery, three projects foreachassisted region. Thelottery
willbeconducted immediately uponreceipt ofthelistbytheRules Division, andtheresults immediately
communicated tothenotifying Member.
2. Foreachselected project, provide thefollowing information forthecurrent year:
(a) theamount ofassistance;
(b) theaidintensity either interms ofjobcreation orinvestment (i.e., expenditures per
unit--however defined intheoriginal notification --forjobcreation orinvestment).
3. Iftheassisted projects spanmore thanthecurrent year, provide theinformation requested in
2(a)and2(b)forthewhole lifeoftheproject (using actual datauptotheendofthecurrent year, and
projected dataforanyremainder oftheproject life,ifthisispracticable. Ifnot,projected datashould
beused).
4. Ifmore thanfiveregions areconcerned, provide theabove information onlyforatotalof
15projects fromthefiveregions selected according totheprocedure inquestion III.1(i.e.threefrom
eachregion).
Or
Ifitismore convenient toprovide theinformation requested in2and3forallprojects inall
regions, these datamaybegiven instead.G/SCM/W/390
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ANNEX 3
Environmental Assistance
Either
1. From theanonymous listofprojects submitted totheRules Division under question IV.1,
theRules Division willidentify, byrandom lottery, fiveprojects. Thelottery willbeconducted
immediately uponreceipt ofthelistbytheRules Division, andtheresults immediately communicated
tothenotifying Member.
2. Foreachselected project provide thefollowing information forthecurrent year:
(a) theamount ofassistance;
(b) theamount ofadaptation costs
(c) theassistance asapercentage ofadaptation costs
(d) thenewenvironmental requirement being metandthekindofadaptation being made
tomeetit.
3. Iftheduration ofaproject ismore thanthecurrent year, provide theabove information for
thelifeoftheproject (using actual datauptotheendofthecurrent yearandprojected dataforany
remainder oftheproject life,ifthisispracticable. Ifnot,projected datashould beused).
Or
Ifitismore convenient toprovide theinformation requested in2and3forallprojects, these
datamaybegiven instead.