Noncentrality of large impurity atoms—Pb and Sn atoms—substituting for Ge atoms in a GeTe lattice has been discovered by means of EXAFS investigations in Ge[sub 0.9]Pb[sub 0.1]Te and Ge[sub 0.85]Sn[sub 0.15]Te samples. The transition of impurity atoms into a noncentral position under conditions of a strong local stress is explained by the participation of an unshared electron pair from the impurity atoms in the formation of the chemical bond.