Article 106³ of the Administrative Offences Code of Georgia establishes administrative liability for a breach of the rules on the carriage of dangerous goods by rail. The carriage of dangerous goods demands particular care, because moving such cargo otherwise than in accordance with the established rules creates a real threat to human life and health, to the environment, to rail infrastructure and to the property of others. For precisely this reason the legislature imposes strict requirements on the rail transport of dangerous goods and, where those requirements are breached, substantial financial sanctions follow. On this page we explain in detail what Article 106³ covers, when an act is treated as an administrative offence under this provision, what fines the article prescribes, and what practical steps a legal entity can take to avoid liability.
What Article 106³ regulates and who is liable
Under the first part of the article, a breach of the rules on the carriage of dangerous goods by rail entails a fine of 5 000 GEL imposed on the legal entity. The sanction of this norm is addressed specifically to the legal entity — the organisation that carries out the carriage of dangerous goods by rail. This means that the fine is not imposed on an individual employee as such: responsibility falls on the company or other organisation that participates in the carriage process. If your company moves dangerous goods by rail, or takes part in such operations in any capacity, it is essential that every rule governing such transport is observed to the letter, because any breach of those rules may constitute the basis for imposing the fine provided for by this article.
The fine for a first breach
For a first breach the article prescribes a fine of 5 000 GEL. This is a significant amount, and it reflects the high public importance of compliance with the rules for the carriage of dangerous goods. The fine is imposed on the legal entity, and its amount is fixed directly by the article, so within the framework of this norm it is neither reduced nor increased. It is equally important to understand that the imposition of a fine does not release the legal entity from its continuing duty of compliance: every subsequent carriage of dangerous goods must likewise be carried out in full conformity with the established rules. Treating a fine as a one-off operating cost would be a serious mistake — legally, financially and reputationally.