Recalling a defective product from the market in Georgia is no longer a purely private matter between business and consumer: the Code on Product Safety and Free Circulation creates a state-law mechanism — from preventive duties through the graduated orders of the market surveillance authority to differentiated sanctions for non-compliance. On this page we explain that three-level logic: first the manufacturer’s initial duties, then the stages of the authority’s response, and finally the fines that scale precisely with those stages. The civil-law recourse for defects remains the subject of a separate page; here we cover the regulatory regime only.
Prevention: the Manufacturer’s Primary Duties
Article 9 lays the foundation: the manufacturer must place only safe products on the market and, within its competence, warn consumers of visible or invisible risks the product contains in its intended use. Where avoiding the risk is impossible, the manufacturer must take every measure to reduce it. The distributor, within its activity, facilitates safety, and both must cooperate with the authorised authorities.
The information layer is set by Article 12: the consumer receives essential, reliable and complete information about the product — name, manufacturer, shelf life where applicable, weight or volume, usage rules — in Georgian. This informational foundation later becomes the backbone of communication with the surveillance authority and of informing affected consumers.
The Surveillance Authority and the Operator’s Duties
Article 13-3 designates the Market Surveillance Agency as the surveillance authority for those products for which the relevant technical regulation so provides, exercising its powers proportionately, independently and impartially.
Article 13-5 governs the economic operator’s duties: satisfy the safety requirements, cooperate with the authority and admit its representatives to production, storage and sale sites, compile and keep the technical documentation. Where the operator has information or reasonable suspicion of non-compliance, it must immediately take corrective action; where the product contains a risk, it must immediately notify the authority of the non-compliances and the measures taken.
The Hierarchy of Restrictive Measures
Article 13-6 arranges the authority’s response in three stages. Where a product does not meet requirements or a confirmed risk is associated with it, the authority may immediately demand suspension of sale, withdrawal from the market, recall or destruction at the operator’s expense. The level of danger sets the stage: non-dangerous non-compliance earns a reasonable correction period not exceeding 30 days; where the product endangers life, health, property or the environment, the authority must decide on withdrawal from the market; and where a serious risk persists after sale, at the use stage — on recall.
The decisions are adopted as orders, binding and not suspended by appeal. An order of withdrawal or recall sets the operator a reasonable period; until it expires the product may not be sold, and on completion the operator notifies the authority in writing. The authority itself publishes information on confirmed risks to the public and may instruct the operator to inform consumers of the danger.
Sanctions — Rising with the Stage
The fines for non-compliance follow that same hierarchy. Failure to comply with an order to suspend sale triggers a fine of 1 500 to 3 000 lari, repeated failure — 3 000 to 5 000 lari. Non-compliance with a withdrawal order is fined from 3 000 to 5 000 lari, repeated — from 5 000 to 8 000 lari. The severest sanction concerns recall: non-compliance with a recall order triggers a fine of 5 000 to 7 000 lari, and repeated non-compliance — from 7 000 to 10 000 lari.
The structure carries a clear message: the later the operator responds to the danger, the higher both the level of the surveillance measure and the ceiling of the fine. Where a recall order is repeatedly ignored, the matter passes into enforcement — the order is executed under an enforcement sheet.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below are the questions manufacturers and importers ask most often about recall procedures, answered from the norms of the Code.
How are suspension, withdrawal and recall distinguished?
By the level of danger: non-compliance without a safety risk is handled by suspension and correction, an existing danger — by withdrawal from the market, and a serious risk persisting after sale — by recall.
What fine threatens non-compliance with a recall order?
From 5 000 to 7 000 lari, and on repetition from 7 000 to 10 000 lari; compare suspension at 1 500–3 000 and withdrawal at 3 000–5 000 lari.
Does an appeal suspend the order?
No. Appeal does not suspend execution — the dispute and the compliance run in parallel.
How are consumers informed?
The authority publishes confirmed-risk information itself and may instruct the operator to inform consumers of the danger.
How We Help on Legal.ge
The lawyers of Legal.ge accompany the product recall process at every stage: we assess the danger level of the identified defect, organise the prompt performance of the operator’s duties, handle communication with the surveillance authority, defend your interests when orders are appealed and reduce sanction risk. Contact us — and the defect becomes a controlled process rather than a crisis.