What Article 79⁴ covers
The circulation of ozone-depleting substances in Georgia rests on the obligations of the 1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. Article 79⁴ of the Administrative Offences Code of Georgia attaches administrative liability to breaches of those obligations: it covers import, export, re-export and transit, and also the production of a substance covered by the Montreal Protocol and its acquisition or disposal in breach of the established rule. The article matters most to refrigerant importers and to the refrigeration and ventilation trade, because several of its penalties scale not with the fact of the breach but with the quantity of substance and the number of containers involved.
Seven offences and the amounts
- breach of the permit conditions for import, export, re-export and transit — 1,000 GEL;
- carrying out import, export, re-export or transit without the relevant permit — 150 GEL for each kilogram of the substance, with or without confiscation of the substance and the container;
- import, export, re-export or transit of a substance prohibited by the Montreal Protocol — 300 GEL for each kilogram, with or without confiscation of the substance and the container;
- breach of the requirements on the refrigerant container and on the information shown on its packaging — 100 GEL for each container and/or item of packaging, with or without confiscation of the container and its contents;
- breach of the requirements on the colouring of the refrigerant container — 25 GEL for each container;
- production of a substance covered by the Montreal Protocol — 10,000 GEL;
- acquisition or disposal of such a substance in breach of the established rule — 150 GEL for each kilogram, with confiscation of the instrument and the object of the administrative offence.
Tying the fine to the kilogram or to the container means the final sum depends directly on the weight recorded and the units counted. In these cases the accuracy of the weighing and of the unit count is therefore as important as the fact of the breach itself, and it is one of the few figures a defence can genuinely move.
Triple and ninefold fines for unmet permit conditions
The notes to the article set up a separate mechanism for permit holders. Notwithstanding that liability has already been imposed, if the permit holder fails to meet the permit conditions within the period set under the procedure established by the Law of Georgia on Licences and Permits, the fine provided for in part 1 of the article is tripled. If the conditions remain unmet within a further period set by the issuing authority, the fine becomes ninefold the amount provided for in part 1. Both notes carve out the cases provided for in Article 232 of the Code.
The practical conclusion is straightforward. A failure to meet a permit condition does not end with a single fine, and in this construction meeting the deadline matters as much as meeting the condition itself. Missing the second deadline multiplies the same original penalty rather than opening a new, separate case.
Removal from the customs territory, and two exceptions
Where an offence under parts 2 to 4 is committed, the offender is fined and, in addition, the substances covered by the Montreal Protocol — other than quota-ed substances — are removed from the customs territory of Georgia at the offender's own expense. This is a consequence in addition to the fine, not an alternative to it.
The notes also provide two exceptions. Liability under part 2 does not extend to the import, once every 30 calendar days and in 1 metal container, of no more than 13.5 kg of hydrofluorocarbons within the framework of the relevant Government of Georgia decree. Liability under part 3 does not extend to the import of substances prohibited by the Montreal Protocol where that import is connected with necessary laboratory and/or research purposes and a corresponding permit has been issued for it.
What you can do, and where a lawyer changes the outcome
A defence here is built on four questions. The first is classification: was this a breach of permit conditions or an operation carried out without a permit at all? In the first case the fine is 1,000 GEL; in the second it is 150 GEL multiplied by every kilogram. The second question is quantity — how the weight and the number of units were established, and whether a weighing record exists in the file. The third is whether an exception applies: does the consignment fall inside the 13.5 kg hydrofluorocarbon allowance, or inside the laboratory and research carve-out?
The fourth is confiscation. Under parts 2 to 4 the law says "with or without confiscation", so confiscation is not automatic; the criterion for that choice is not named in Article 79⁴ itself. A lawyer works through those four points and separately checks whether the tripling and ninefold mechanism has been triggered, because there it is a missed deadline, not a new shipment, that increases the sum.
What to gather before the first consultation
- copies of the protocol and the decision;
- the permit certificate and the list of permit conditions attached to it;
- customs declarations, invoices, transport and transit documents;
- weighing records and a container list showing capacity;
- photographs of the container markings and the packaging labels;
- correspondence with the issuing authority about deadlines and compliance.