The Customs-Law Foundation of Trade with the European Union
Trade with the European Union rests on the deep and comprehensive free trade regime, yet the practical application of that regime is defined by Georgia's Tax Code: customs legislation decides how the origin of goods is fixed, which document confirms preferential status and how customs procedures are opened. Preferential trade is not automatic — to benefit from zero or reduced tariffs the goods must pass the origin determination rules, and the declarant must document that status before the customs authority. For a Georgian manufacturer negotiating entry to the European market, this very stage — correct qualification and confirmation of origin — often becomes decisive: an error here both forfeits the preference and triggers additional demands from the customs authority, turning a planned margin into an unplanned cost.
Advance Rulings on Origin and Other Factors
The customs system provides for advance rulings: besides advance rulings on the commodity classification code and on the origin of goods, the Minister of Finance of Georgia is entitled to define the cases in which the customs authority issues advance rulings on other factors. In practice this means the declarant may obtain, before release of the goods, an official answer on how the goods are qualified as to origin and which requirements apply. When planning exports to the European market, this instrument reduces risk: an advance ruling prevents the situation where the shipment has already been made and the customs authority declines to recognise the preference. Obtaining an advance ruling is particularly important for goods whose origin is embedded in production involving several countries and whose qualification may be open to doubt — the ruling converts that doubt into a documented position before the goods move.
Non-Preferential and Preferential Origin
The origin of goods is determined upon their importation into, or exportation from, the customs territory of Georgia for the purpose of applying trade defence measures. Origin may be non-preferential or preferential. Non-preferential origin is used for import duty purposes, save where a benefit under an international treaty of Georgia applies, and for implementing non-tariff regulatory measures of foreign trade established by other legal acts. Goods acquire non-preferential origin and are considered to originate in the country where they were wholly obtained, or where they underwent their last substantial transformation when more than one country participated in their production. The criteria and procedure for determining preferential origin, as well as the form of the origin-confirming document and the rules for completing it, are defined by the relevant international treaty of Georgia — in trade with the European Union, precisely by the association agreement. Where the customs declaration indicates the country of origin, the customs authority may require the declarant to confirm origin, and where a reasonable doubt exists it may require additional evidence to satisfy itself that the information is indicated according to the applicable determination rules. The procedures and rules for issuing origin-confirming documents for goods having the status of Georgian origin are defined by a government decree.