What Article 91³ prohibits
Article 91³ of the Georgian Code of Administrative Offences concerns the quality standards for motor petrol and the composition standards for diesel fuel. Those standards are set by a decree of the Government of Georgia, and the article regulates three separate forms of conduct on the territory of Georgia: importing fuel that fails to meet them, producing such fuel, and supplying it.
The three parts do not replace one another. Each has its own elements and its own sanction, and which one an authority applies determines the size of the penalty. The text of the article states expressly that the fine falls on the offending natural or legal person, so liability is not confined to companies. In practice, cases under this article involve importers, fuel producers, petroleum product storage facilities and those supplying filling stations.
The sanction has two components
What is distinctive about Article 91³ is that the penalty in each part is made up of two elements: a fixed sum, plus a further amount arrived at by multiplication. In the wording of the law:
- Part 1 — import of petrol and/or diesel fuel that fails to meet the standards: 30,000 GEL, plus an amount equal to the customs value of the imported fuel multiplied by 10;
- Part 2 — production of such fuel: 30,000 GEL, plus an amount equal to the cost price of the actual volume (in litres) of fuel produced, multiplied by 10;
- Part 3 — supply of such fuel: 20,000 GEL, plus an amount equal to the delivery price, at the place of delivery, of the actual volume (in litres) placed at or intended for supply to a filling station or a petroleum products storage facility, multiplied by 5.
The fixed element never varies within a given part. The second element depends directly on the value and the volume of the fuel, which is why two cases that look similar on the facts can end in totals many times apart.
How the second component is calculated
The article carries three notes, and they exist precisely to define the basis of that calculation. For the purposes of Part 1, the customs value of the fuel means the price of the goods stated in the customs declaration. For the purposes of Part 2, cost price means the amount spent on producing the fuel. For the purposes of Part 3, the delivery price at the place of supply means the sale price of the fuel recorded during the inspection.
The structure of the calculation is the same in all three parts: the basis is established, it is multiplied by the figure the article sets, and the product is added to the fixed fine. The article names the multiplier — 10 under Parts 1 and 2, and 5 under Part 3 — but not the basis. Neither a value nor a volume appears anywhere in the provision; both are taken from the material in the particular case. The final sum therefore cannot be worked out in advance from the text of the article.
That is exactly why the declared price, the record of production costs or the price recorded at inspection is usually the central point of dispute in these cases. Changing the basis changes the second component directly, and because the multiplier is greater than one, any inaccuracy in the basis reaches the final figure already multiplied.
How these cases run in practice
A case normally starts with testing of the fuel and a finding that its quality does not meet the standards set by the Government decree. An administrative offence report follows, and the first things to establish from it are which part of the article is relied on — import, production or supply — and what volume and what price the calculation rests on.
Article 91³ itself does not state a deadline for appealing, name the body an appeal goes to, or say what the decision must contain; those questions are governed by other provisions of the Code. Check the deadline and the addressee in the document that was served on you, and treat that document, rather than any general assumption, as the source.
The line of defence, and what a lawyer does
Because the second component is calculated rather than fixed, a large part of these cases turns on figures. The points most often in dispute are:
- whether the correct part was chosen — import, production or supply — since the fixed sum and the multiplier differ between them;
- what volume the calculation was run on: the actual volume, or a broader stock figure;
- which price was taken as the basis, and whether it matches the definition given in the notes;
- what the finding on fuel quality rests on, and whether the sampling procedure was followed;
- who is being held liable — a natural or a legal person — and on what basis.
A lawyer cannot promise that a fine of this size will be cancelled. What is actually done is to review the file, re-check the calculation against the definitions in the notes, assess the quality finding and the sampling behind it, and file a position that reaches the competent body within the applicable period.
What to bring
Before a consultation, gather the documents the calculation is built on:
- the administrative offence report, including the part setting out the calculation;
- the customs declaration, if the case concerns import;
- production cost records, if the case concerns production;
- supply documents and anything evidencing the price recorded at inspection;
- all sampling records and quality test findings.