What Article 169 Prohibits: Amount Thresholds and Method
The currency smuggling page serves two audiences — travellers crossing the customs border with cash or securities, and businesses moving funds across borders. The norm is built as three tiers, and the sanction depends precisely on the amount moved. The first tier: moving or bringing in across the customs border of Georgia cash and securities in an amount exceeding 30,000 GEL or its equivalent in another currency, but not more than 50,000 GEL, bypassing customs control or concealment from it, or by incorrect declaration — this results in a fine of 3,000 GEL or uncompensated confiscation of these goods.
The Second and Third Tiers: From 50,000 to 100,000 and Beyond
The second tier: an amount exceeding 50,000 GEL or its equivalent, but not more than 100,000 GEL, moved the same way — a fine of 5,000 GEL or confiscation. The third tier: an amount exceeding 100,000 GEL or its equivalent — a fine of 10 percent of the value of the cash and securities moved or brought in, or confiscation. Each tier is assessed separately, and compressing them into a single figure is a mistake.
The Clarification on Incorrect Declaration
An important clarification exists too: where undeclared goods are present, declaration is treated as incorrect if the total quantity of declared and undeclared goods exceeds 30,000 GEL or its equivalent in another currency. Concealment therefore covers not only physical hiding but also partial indication in the declaration.
The Defense Angle: Formal Error or Deliberate Concealment
In the examination of the case the central questions are intent and the form of concealment: the law speaks of bypassing customs control, moving hidden from it, or incorrect declaration. A formal error in the declaration — carelessness, a mistakenly filled field, or an incorrect treatment of the exchange rate — and deliberate hiding are different situations, and the line of defense is built on exactly that distinction. When the tier of liability is determined, every figure — the amount moved, the equivalent, and the total — must be verified against documents.
Working with the thresholds demands exact control of the figures: the first tier starts above 30,000 GEL and reaches 50,000; the second runs from 50,000 to 100,000; the third covers everything above 100,000 GEL; and where the currency is foreign, every amount is converted into its GEL equivalent. A tier error — for instance, assigning the second tier to an amount belonging to the first — directly changes the sanction and must be exposed immediately.
The case file also shows the character of the transfer: the presence or absence of a declaration, the records at the customs control point, the packaging and placement of the funds — together these circumstances answer whether the movement bypassed customs control or was concealed from it. The detailed procedure for declaration is established by other norms, so in contested situations what matters is what was recorded at the control point and what was later described in the case materials.
Several practical scenarios become contested most often: a family travels together and the funds are divided among several persons; part of the amount is in luggage, part carried on hand or in devices; a declaration is filled in but one field is left out. In each of these the decisive step is computing the total amount and comparing it with the 30,000 GEL threshold: under the law's clarification, where the total of declared and undeclared goods exceeds that threshold, the declaration counts as incorrect. Reviewing the case therefore reconstructs the full picture from every source — who moved, with what amount and how.
The details of administrative procedure — who establishes the fact of the act, which organ issues the decision and how it is appealed — are not determined by this article and are set by other norms; what is described here is the prohibition itself, its amount thresholds and its sanctions. Preparing the position therefore works in two layers: exact verification of the figures fixed by the article and correct application of the procedural rules.
Frequently Asked Questions
What amount triggers liability?
Moving more than 30,000 GEL or its equivalent bypassing customs control, concealed, or incorrectly declared — starting with the tier penalized by a 3,000 GEL fine.
What sanction applies to higher tiers?
Up to 50,000 — a 3,000 GEL fine; up to 100,000 — 5,000 GEL; above that — 10 percent of the value; confiscation is the alternative in each case.
What if the declaration is partial?
Where the total of declared and undeclared goods exceeds 30,000 GEL or the equivalent, the declaration counts as incorrect.
Is a fine or confiscation mandatory?
The law provides a fine or uncompensated confiscation of the goods; the circumstances of the incident shape the outcome.
How We Help on Legal.ge
Customs and administrative law advocates on Legal.ge represent parties in currency transfer cases: they verify the correct tier, separate formal error from deliberate concealment, and prepare the position or the complaint. Contact us — we will assess your case through its figures and documents.