Article 128⁵ of the Administrative Offences Code of Georgia establishes administrative liability for a timber user's breach of the rules on the use of timber-origin documents and special tags, on the marking of timber, and on their accounting and reporting. The documentation of the origin of timber is one of the principal instruments of lawful circulation: it confirms where the timber comes from and thereby serves the fight against unlawful felling. On this page we describe in detail what this norm covers, what fines are provided, and how to protect yourself from liability.
What Article 128⁵ regulates
The first part of the norm covers a broad composition. A breach is considered to include a breach of the rules on the use of timber-origin documents and special tags, of the rules on the marking of timber, and of the rules on their accounting and reporting. It also includes the failure to submit unused and/or damaged forms of the timber-origin document or of the special marking tags in the manner determined by a resolution of the Government of Georgia, and, in the case of loss, a breach of the established rules for submitting the respective application — the fate of every form must be traceable. This list shows that the legislature controls the entire documentary chain of timber circulation — from the use of forms to reporting.
The amounts of the fines
For a first breach a fine of 500 GEL is provided. The repeated commission of the same act entails an aggravated consequence — the fine rises to 1000 GEL. Such escalation is logical: the systematic breach of documentary discipline destroys the reliability of lawful sources of timber, and the legislature assesses this twice as strictly.
Why timber traceability matters
Timber-origin documents and tags are part of the traceability system:
- they confirm that the timber is the result of lawful felling;
- they give the control bodies the possibility to verify the chain of circulation;
- they protect the conscientious user from unequal competition with the market of unlawful felling.
That is why even seemingly formal inaccuracies connected with forms and accounting become the basis for a separate sanction: every link of the documentary order is tied to the reliability of the whole system.
Practical recommendations
To avoid the fine provided for by Article 128⁵, you are advised to do the following:
- observe precisely all the rules on the use of documents and tags and submit your accounting systematically;
- submit unused or damaged forms in good time in the established manner, and in case of loss prepare the application in the proper form;
- where a repeated fine is qualified, verify the lawfulness of the earlier penalty;
- where necessary, consult a lawyer — documentary disputes are won on details.
The legal anatomy of documentary discipline
A timber-origin document is not a separate sheet of paper — it is an element of a system that includes the use of forms, marking, accounting, reporting and the rules for the disposal of unused or damaged forms. One of the main principles of this system is traceability: every form has its own fate, and its loss or damage must be reflected through a defined procedure. It is precisely for this reason that the norm separately names both the rules of use and the rules of accounting and submission — an inaccuracy in any link becomes a ground for liability.
Qualification of repetition and defence
The 1000 GEL sanction is connected with repeated commission, and here the lawfulness of the earlier penalty is decisive: if the first fine was disputed or procedurally flawed, the aggravated qualification built on it is also called into question. In the hearing of the case, demand the presentation of the documents recording the movement of the forms and compare them with the facts described in the protocol. In practice such cases are often won precisely on details: inaccuracies in dates, in the competence of the recording body and in the accounting of forms destroy the fine.
Experience of working with timber documentation in our practice shows one thing clearly: most fines are the result not of deliberate breach but of unsystematic processes. The storage of forms, the maintenance of an accounting register, observance of the reporting calendar and the designation of a responsible employee — these four elements create the internal control that minimises the risk of a breach. In an organisation where these elements are written down, a fine is almost never a realistic scenario; where processes rest on the memory of individuals, an error is a matter of time.
Conclusion
Article 128⁵ protects the documentary order of timber circulation and shows that the foundation of lawful circulation is not a verbal guarantee but a verifiable document: a breach of the rules on origin documents, tags, marking, accounting and reporting is punished with a 500 GEL fine, and on repeated commission — with 1000 GEL. If a fine has been imposed on you under this article, the specialists at Legal.ge will help you analyse the protocol and the documents.