In this work, the influence of the surface graded-gap layer on the optical properties of epitaxial Hg_0.7Cd_0.3Te films was studied using optical methods. Photoluminescence and photoreflectance were used to establish a change in the  optical response from samples after etching off the graded-gap layer. It was shown that its presence manifests itself differently in the optical signal from as-grown and annealed films.