Alcohol beverage law in Georgia is frequently misunderstood: many entrepreneurs search for an "alcohol license" that, as a distinct licensing category within this regulatory sphere, no longer exists. Under the current system, an alcoholic beverage is treated directly as food, and its production and sale fall under the general food safety regime — registration as a business operator, approval where required, labeling requirements, and state control. On this page we explain how this regime works and what requirements producers, importers, and sellers of alcoholic beverages must observe.
Alcoholic beverages as food
The food safety code applies to the production, processing, and distribution of food on the territory of Georgia — and alcoholic beverages are not carved out of that definition. This means that an alcoholic beverage placed on the market must satisfy food safety requirements, and placing harmful products on the market is prohibited. Food is harmful if it endangers human life or health or is unfit for consumption. Safety assessment takes into account compliance of production and processing with statutory requirements, information provided to the consumer including the label, effects not only on the consumer but also on subsequent generations, possible toxic cumulative effects, and risks connected with special categories of consumers for whom the product is intended.
Where food is harmful, the entire batch is deemed harmful unless a detailed inspection confirms that the remainder satisfies the requirements — and the business operator reimburses the costs of that inspection. Even formal compliance does not preclude the agency from restricting or banning market placement or withdrawing the product where a justified suspicion of unsafety exists. For alcohol producers and importers, this batch-level logic is a key operational risk to manage.
Registration and approval as a business operator
A person wishing to trade in alcoholic beverages must first register as a business operator: the relevant activity is registered in the register of economic activities, and upon starting, ceasing, or changing any registered data connected with the activity, the operator must apply to the National Agency of Public Registry to amend the register. Carrying on activity as a business operator without registration is prohibited.
Approval deserves separate attention. Approval is mandatory for a business operator whose activity is connected with the production and/or processing of food of animal origin — with exceptions: family production; primary production; production or processing using traditional methods; non-factory production in high mountain regions; direct supply of primary products to final consumers or consumer-facing retail points with small business status; storage not requiring temperature control; and certain retail formats. Approval is granted by the agency on the basis of inspection results, according to rules approved by government decree, and operating without approval where it is required is prohibited. The agency may also, at a business operator's request, approve an activity that is not subject to mandatory approval.
Labeling rules and prohibited terms
Food intended for sale must be labeled in accordance with the procedure established by the government of Georgia. Wine and other alcoholic beverages of grape origin are labeled in accordance with the Georgian law on vine and wine, while products made from genetically modified organisms follow the corresponding special law. Compliance of labels with requirements is established during state control.
One rule is especially strict for marketing: it is prohibited to indicate, on the label of food or in an accompanying document, any combination of the terms "biological", "ecological", "eco", "bio", or "organic" unless the product conforms to the bio-production rules established by the government and that conformity is confirmed by an appropriate conformity certificate. Without such a certificate, these claims are unlawful.
National Wine Agency control over spirits
State control at the production and processing stages of spirituous beverages, ethyl alcohol of agricultural origin, and distillate of agricultural origin is exercised by the National Wine Agency. The forms of control are: monitoring; documentary checks; sampling and testing in an accredited laboratory; and the issuance of a conformity certificate. In practice, this means a spirits producer must be ready both for documentary inspection and for laboratory testing of product samples — and the issuance of a conformity certificate is the formal outcome of that control.
Business operator duties toward market protection
A business operator must ensure, within the scope of its activity, the conformity of food with the requirements of the code and related legislation at the production, processing, and distribution stages. Where it has a justified suspicion that food it has imported, produced, processed, distributed, or placed on the market does not meet safety requirements, it must immediately take measures to prevent market placement or to withdraw the product already placed. Where such food has been supplied to final consumers, the operator must effectively and clearly inform consumers of the reasons for withdrawal; and where measures taken are insufficient to protect health, the operator must recall the food supplied to consumers. Measures taken must be immediately reported in writing to the agency. Liability for breaches is defined by legislation — so when planning an alcohol business, anchor your internal procedures on these three pillars: registration and approval, labeling, and readiness for state control.