A seizure is a means of securing a claim, but it is often imposed with errors: property protected by law gets seized, the inventory-and-seizure act fails to meet formal requirements, or the priority of registrations is broken. Our seizure check package exposes those errors — one audit of property, accounts and vehicles.
What the Seizure Check Package Includes
A party to enforcement proceedings has the right to examine the case file and receive copies, except documents containing commercial, tax and banking secrets and other confidential papers; a participant in the proceedings may examine the materials that directly affect that party’s rights or lawful interests. We use this right to establish what the officer has inventoried and to reconcile the registration of seizures. Seizure of real estate and other property subject to registration is imposed by an application of the National Bureau of Enforcement, while movables located in real estate — on the basis of the inventory-and-seizure act.
Property That Cannot Be Seized
All of the debtor’s items are subject to seizure except property protected by law; items found with the debtor are presumed to belong to the debtor. The following may not be seized:
- personal or household items necessary for the debtor’s professional activity, life and household;
- four weeks’ food, fuel and lighting for the debtor and the household, or the money to buy them;
- small livestock in limited quantity, one milch cow or — at the debtor’s choice — two pigs, sheep or goats, plus a three months’ feed supply;
- tools, livestock, fertiliser and produce needed to run a farm;
- items needed for the activity you earn your income from;
- targeted assistance granted by the state;
- property of a family registered in the database of socially vulnerable families, where the score is below the government threshold and it is not used as security.
The subsistence minimum is determined by Georgian legislation, and this exemption covers income below it. A dispute over exemption is examined in court — the route we run for you.
The Seizure Act — What We Check
The inventory-and-seizure act must state the time and place of its compilation, the enforcement bureau and the officer, the decision being enforced, the creditor and the debtor, the name of each item with its distinguishing features, the separate valuation and the value of the whole, the seal numbers if items were sealed, the custodian of the property, and the explanation of the appeal procedure to the debtor. The act is signed by the officer, the custodian, the creditor, the debtor and those present. It must also list, with value, the protected property left with the debtor and unseized co-owned property. After seizure, any disposal of the real estate — sale, mortgage, rent or lease — is void.
Multiple Seizures and Priority of Registration
Property may simultaneously be seized for several creditors, and already seized property may be seized for a subsequent creditor. The order of enforcement is determined by the time of registration of the seizure — hourly and by the minute: vehicles and agricultural machinery are registered with the competent body of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, vessels and aircraft in state registries, securities with the registrar, other property in the public registry. Realization of the same property is carried out by the officer who registered the seizure earliest. The exact registration time is therefore a central audit task.
Seizure of Accounts and Claims
A seizure on a claim is imposed by an order of the National Bureau of Enforcement issued on the creditor’s application, stating the basis of the claim, the claims to be performed and the assigned person — for example, a bank. The order takes effect upon its handover to the assigned person: from that moment the debtor may no longer dispose of the claims, and the assigned person must pay the seized amount to the creditor. An order concerning salary or similar regular income extends to amounts becoming payable after the seizure as well. The order remains in force until annulled and until the annulment becomes known to the assigned person — which is why its removal requires a formally executed annulment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Answers to frequent questions about seizure checks.
How do I find out what the enforcement officer has seized?
A party to the case may examine the enforcement case file and receive copies, except commercial and confidential documents. From those materials we compile the full list of seized property and reconcile it with the registries.
Which items must stay with the debtor?
The law protects four weeks’ food and fuel, items necessary for household and professional activity, agricultural inventory, targeted state assistance and property of families registered in the socially vulnerable database. If such an item was nevertheless inventoried, exemption is decided in court.
Why does the time of registration of the seizure matter?
With several creditors, the order of enforcement is set by the registration time — hourly and by the minute. The officer who registered first conducts the realization of the property, so an error in time directly affects your position in the queue.
What if a protected item was seized?
A dispute on exemption of property from enforcement is examined in court. We prepare the claim, substantiate the item’s purpose and combine it with the act’s formal defects.
The bank blocked my account — is that a seizure?
Yes, it is a seizure on a claim: the order is handed to the bank and takes effect upon receipt, after which the bank pays the creditor. We check the order’s legality and the distribution of funds.
How We Help on Legal.ge
The package includes studying the case file, reviewing the seizure acts formally, identifying protected property, establishing each seizure’s registration time across all registries, and a conclusion — what to challenge and which items can be freed. Where necessary we litigate exemption in court. Contact us for a consultation on Legal.ge.