The legal framework of agricultural activity in Georgia
Agricultural activity in Georgia rests on a single codified regime: the production, processing and distribution of food and animal feed, animal health and welfare, and plant protection are all governed by the corresponding Code. Its stated purpose is the protection of human life and health, of consumer interests, of animal health and welfare and of plant health, together with the definition of unified principles of state regulation in these fields and the formation of an effective system of state control. That Code is the legal base on which farming, food and agri-service businesses operate every day, and ignoring its requirements routinely turns into real sanction risk.
In practical terms the core of Georgian agriculture law consists of three directions: registration and recognition as a business operator, the types of state control, and liability for violations. This page walks you through each of them on the basis of the exact norms of the Code, so that you have a precise picture for your own operation.
Scope of the Code and exemptions
The Code applies to the production, processing and distribution of food and animal feed, of animals, plants and animal and plant products carried out on the territory of Georgia; it also covers primary production, animal health and welfare, plant health, veterinary preparations, pesticides and agrochemicals, and — insofar as it follows from the Code's purpose — environmental protection. Controls related to the movement of goods across the customs border of Georgia (import, re-export, export and transit) are regulated by this Code together with the Customs Code and other relevant normative acts.
The legislature also provided softer regimes. Simplified requirements approved by a government decree apply to the business operator that holds small business status and directly supplies primary products to the final consumer or to a retail outlet directly supplying the final consumer; that uses traditional methods for production, processing, distribution or primary production; or that carries out production, processing or primary production in a highland region by a non-factory method. At the same time, state control does not extend to household production by a natural person, although within veterinary and phytosanitary control the provisions of the Code related to a household production subject still apply to it.
Registration and recognition as a business operator
Article 13 of the Code governs the first and most important condition of market participation. A business operator must register the relevant activity in the Register of Economic Activities in the manner established by Georgian legislation, and upon starting the activity, stopping it or changing any registered data must apply to the National Agency of the Public Registry in order to enter the change. Conducting the activity of a business operator without registration is prohibited — this is a categorical ban, and its breach means the activity is unlawful as such.
Beyond registration, recognition of the business operator is mandatory for activities connected with the production or processing of food of animal origin, with the production, processing or market placement of animal feed, with non-food products of animal origin and with the sphere of plant protection. The Code lists the carve-outs in detail: household production, primary production, traditional methods, non-factory operation in highland regions, direct supply of primary products under small business status and several other cases do not require recognition. Recognition is carried out by the Agency based on the results of inspection, according to a rule approved by a government decree, and conducting an activity subject to recognition without recognition is prohibited. At the same time, the Agency may, at the operator's request, recognize an activity that is not subject to mandatory recognition.
Types of state control
Article 25 of the Code defines three types of state control. The first is food and animal feed safety control, which serves both to establish compliance with safety and labelling requirements and to verify compliance with the requirements for supplying information about food to the consumer. The second is veterinary control, which establishes compliance with requirements in the veterinary sphere. The third is phytosanitary control, which checks compliance with phytosanitary requirements in the sphere of plant protection. When your facility is inspected in the recognition process, the Agency works exactly within these types of control, so assessing them in advance significantly speeds up registration and recognition.
Animal identification and registration, and fines
Where the rules of animal identification and registration, or of the registration of their premises or temporary premises, are violated and the business operator fails to comply with an instruction issued by the Agency, an operator holding small business status is fined 100 GEL, and any other business operator is fined 500 GEL. This is one of the rare cases where the Code fixes a fine directly, which is why immediate compliance with an instruction is always the cheaper and safer decision than contesting a sanction.
What this regime does not cover
The boundaries must be drawn precisely: organic production certification and agricultural subsidies are regulated by separate legislation and are outside the subject of this page. The core of this regime is the registration, recognition and state control system established by the food safety and veterinary Code. If your question concerns precisely organic certification or subsidisation, you will need an analysis of the corresponding other norms, while in matters of registration and control the rules described on this page apply directly.
How we help
Our team assists with the registration and recognition procedure for business operators, with preparing a facility for Agency inspection, with responding to instructions and administrative sanctions, and with assessing the compliance of the Code's requirements against your specific activity. Every recommendation is grounded in the norms of this Code, with exact boundaries of liability indicated.