The purpose of Article 128⁴
Article 128⁴ of the Code of Administrative Offences of Georgia governs liability for breaches of the requirements established for the marking of imported timber. These requirements are determined by the relevant resolution of the Government of Georgia. The aim of the norm is to control the lawful circulation of imported timber: marking makes it possible to identify each consignment and its origin.
The marking system for imported timber is part of a unified system of forest control: like domestic timber, imported logs are subject to identification, so that every consignment entering the market attests to its lawful status. A breach of the marking rules is therefore not a technical formality — it undermines the control system established by the state.
The elements of the offence
The elements are constituted by the breach of the requirements for the marking of imported timber determined by a resolution of the Government. The article regulates sanctions in two parts:
- part one — breach of the marking requirements — a fine of 1 000 lari;
- part two — the same conduct committed repeatedly — a fine of 2000 lari, with the confiscation of the timber.
The two sanctions operate separately: the first breach is punished with 1 000 lari, while a repeated one attracts 2000 lari and, additionally, the confiscation of the timber. Confiscation is provided for only under part two.
The significance of confiscation
Under part two, confiscation concerns the timber itself: in the event of a repeated breach, the timber in respect of which the violation was committed passes into state ownership together with the increased fine. The practical cost of repetition is therefore expressed not only in the growth of the fine but in the loss of the cargo itself. For an importer, compliance with the marking rules is thus a question of preserving the goods, not merely of avoiding a sanction.
What the article does not regulate
Article 128⁴ defines the elements of the offence and the sanctions. The specific marking procedure — with which marks, at which stage and with which accompanying documentation imported timber is to be marked — is established by a government resolution and must be studied separately. Likewise, the procedure of administrative proceedings — who draws up the protocol, which body examines the case and how a decision may be appealed — is governed by other provisions of the Code.