Types of import licensing in Georgian legislation
Authorization related to import in Georgia is divided into two levels — activity licences and permits — and both are defined by the Georgian Law on Licences and Permits. The list of activity licences also contains import-related positions: it provides for a licence for the import and processing of a genetically modified organism permitted on the territory of Georgia and intended for the production of animal feed (other than maize, wheat and vine), which enters into force on 31 March 2027. This means that an importer must first determine at which level its product is regulated — by an activity licence or by a permit for a single operation.
The catalogue of import permits
The list of permits is divided in detail by import direction. For products subject to veterinary control the law provides a separate transit permit and a separate import permit; the import of products of plant origin subject to phytosanitary control requires its own permit. The import, export and transit of waste are covered by one permit, while the import, export, re-export and transit of substances provided for by the 1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer are subject to a separate permit regime.
In the radioactive materials block, import is included in a unified permit norm: the import, export and transit of radioactive material, its return to the manufacturer, as well as the import and export of nuclear technologies or know-how; acquisition within the country is a separate position, and the export of radioactive waste is yet another. The export, import, re-export and introduction from the sea of species included in the annexes of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, their parts and derivatives, requires a special permit. The import or export of medicinal products subject to special control is a separate category, and the list also contains a permit for the import of non-iodized salt.
Application and documentation
The permit seeker submits a written application to the issuing authority; the submission, examination and acceptance for proceedings of the application are carried out under the procedure established by Chapter VI of the General Administrative Code of Georgia. The application must satisfy the application requirements of the General Administrative Code and must indicate which type of permit the seeker requests, together with a list of attached documents. A private law legal person and an individual entrepreneur submit extracts from the public registry, a natural person copies of identification documents, and a public law legal person certified copies of founding documents.
The application is accompanied by a document confirming payment of the permit fee, except for the cases provided by law; the amount of the fee and the procedure for its payment are determined by the Law on Licence and Permit Fees. Additional attached documents may be determined only by law — an important guarantee for the importer, since an authority cannot arbitrarily expand the circle of documents. Additional permit conditions, arising from the peculiarities of the activity, are determined by law, by a normative act of the Government or by a decision of a municipal representative body.
Participating administrative bodies and deadlines
Where the confirmation of part of the permit conditions is entrusted to another administrative body, the issuing authority transmits to it copies of the application and documents no later than 3 days from establishing the application's compliance with the statutory requirements. The other body must adopt a decision on the establishment or refusal to establish the relevant factual circumstances no later than 15 days from the submission of the copies; it may request an extension of this period by reasoned motion, no later than 5 days from receiving the copies, and must submit its decision to the issuing authority no later than 17 days from submission. If within the established period the factual circumstance is not confirmed and no reasoned refusal is made, the additional permit conditions are deemed satisfied. If the seeker already holds a permit for a similar action, the issuing authority does not re-examine the factual circumstances established when the previous permit was issued.
Frequently Asked Questions
Within what period must the other administrative organ decide?
A refusal decision — no later than 15 days from the submission; where necessary the term may be extended on motion, and the decision must reach the permit issuer no later than 17 days.
Under what common name are the permits issued?
According to the catalogue of import permits — by the specific activity and product, with the participation of the cooperating administrative organs.
Can an application be sent back?
Where the documentation is defective, the application will not be processed until the defect is cured — completeness of the file is decisive.
Grounds for refusal
A permit is not issued if: the application and attached documents do not satisfy the requirements of the law and have not been corrected by the seeker within the period set by the administrative body; the seeker does not satisfy the permit conditions established by law or, on its basis, by a normative act of the Government or by a municipal representative body; or the seeker has been deprived, by a court conviction that has entered into legal force, of the right to carry on activities in the respective permit sphere. These three grounds are exhaustive — refusing an import permit on any other motive is unlawful. For the importer this regime means a simple but discipline-demanding scheme: first derive the correct permit type from the catalogue, then complete an application meeting the requirements of the General Administrative Code, and finally monitor the deadlines distributed among the participating bodies.
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