---
title: "Limitation period for enforcing an administrative penalty (Art. 287)"
url: "https://legal.ge/en/service/administrative-and-public-law-en/limitation-period-for-enforcing-an-administrative-penalty-art-287-en"
field: "Administrative & Public Law"
description: "Article 287: an administrative penalty is not enforced if not turned over for enforcement within 1 year. Suspension and exceptions — Legal.ge."
updated: "2026-10-14"
publisher: "legal.ge"
---

# Limitation period for enforcing an administrative penalty (Art. 287)

> Source: legal.ge, https://legal.ge/en/service/administrative-and-public-law-en/limitation-period-for-enforcing-an-administrative-penalty-art-287-en

## What the limitation period on enforcement actually means

A decision imposing an administrative penalty does not remain enforceable indefinitely. Article 287 of the Administrative Offences Code of Georgia provides that a decision imposing an administrative penalty shall not be enforced if it was not turned over for enforcement within 1 year of being issued, apart from the exceptional cases provided for in that same article. The rule works in your favour. It caps the window during which an already-issued decision can produce real coercive consequences, and it rules out enforcement surfacing years later as though no time had passed at all. If you have just received a demand relating to an old decision, this is the first provision to check.

The full text is available on legal.ge after signing in: https://legal.ge/en/service/administrative-and-public-law-en/limitation-period-for-enforcing-an-administrative-penalty-art-287-en

### A demand has arrived about a decision from several years ago. Can it still be enforced?

That depends on when the decision was turned over for enforcement, not on when the demand reached you. Article 287 provides that the decision shall not be enforced if it was not turned over for enforcement within 1 year of being issued, subject to the exceptions in that article. Establish both dates from the file before responding.

### Does appealing help me or hurt me here?

An appeal can pause the clock rather than extend your protection. Where enforcement is suspended under Article 275, the running of the limitation period is suspended until the complaint or protest has been examined; where enforcement is postponed under Article 285, it is suspended until the postponement expires. That time is neither held against you nor counted towards the year.

### Does the limitation period cancel the decision itself?

Article 287 is written about enforcement. Its wording is that the decision shall not be enforced — it does not, in its own terms, describe the decision as annulled. Setting a decision aside is a separate route with its own consequences, so it is worth being clear which of the two you are actually seeking.

### Is one year always the limit?

No. Paragraph 4 of Article 287 allows the legislation of Georgia to set other, longer periods for enforcing decisions in particular categories of administrative offence cases. Before relying on the one-year rule, check whether a special law governs your offence.