Constructing a commercial facility in Georgia is a permit-regulated activity: under the law on licenses and permits, a construction permit is mandatory for erecting a building, while special permit types are reserved for objects of special significance and for radiation or nuclear facilities. If you are planning to build a commercial building, this page explains which permit you need, what documents you submit, within what timeframes your application is decided, and how the procedure runs electronically.
Which permit type fits a commercial facility
The law distinguishes three construction permit types: a construction permit — except for objects of special significance and radiation or nuclear facilities; a permit for the construction of objects of special significance — except radiation or nuclear facilities; and a permit for the construction of radiation or nuclear facilities. For an ordinary commercial facility the first type applies, but if your object qualifies as one of special significance under the legislation, your application must target the second type. The general catalogue of permit types places construction among dozens of other licensed activities — from the import and export of medicinal products to the placement of outdoor advertising — and that catalogue defines which actions cannot be undertaken without a permit at all.
The application and supporting documents
To obtain a permit, a written application is submitted to the permit issuer; its submission, examination, and acceptance for processing follow the procedure established by the General Administrative Code. The application must indicate which type of permit you seek and list the attached documents. It must be accompanied by: for a private-law legal entity or an individual entrepreneur — extracts from the public registry; for a natural person — copies of identification documents; a public-law legal entity must attach certified copies of its founding documents. The application is also accompanied by proof of payment of the permit fee — unless the permit seeker is a ministry or a state subordinated institution under its authority. Additional attached documents may be prescribed only by law.
An important guarantee covers repeat applications: where a permit seeker already holds a permit for a similar type of action, the issuer does not re-examine the factual circumstances of compliance with permit conditions that were established when the previous permit was issued. Factual circumstances confirming additional permit conditions — verified in a separate administrative proceeding — are transferred to another administrative body: the issuer must send copies of the application and attached documents no later than three days after establishing conformity, and the other body must decide within no later than fifteen days of receipt; an extension may be requested only by substantiated motion filed no later than five days after receipt, with the decision then due within no later than seventeen days. If, within the set timeframe, the factual circumstance is neither confirmed nor refused, the additional permit conditions are deemed satisfied. Upon any change in the data, the permit holder must notify the issuer within seven days of the change.
Timeframes and the decision rule
The decision to issue a permit is taken under the simplified administrative procedure, and the decision is an administrative act that must meet the requirements of the General Administrative Code. The basic term is twenty days from submission: if no decision is taken within that period, the permit is deemed issued — a presumption of constructive silence in the seeker's favor, and the seeker may, after expiry of the term, request a permit certificate, which the issuer must grant immediately. Where more time is needed to establish circumstances of material significance, the issuer may, by substantiated decision, extend the proceeding for up to three months — the extension decision must be taken within fifteen days of submission, and the seeker must be notified of extension within twenty days. A special regime applies to permits characterized by increased danger to human life and health: there the government may extend the term by a further three months, and in exceptional cases — up to six months.
Electronic procedure and the fire safety conclusion
The construction permit issuer may conduct the issuance procedure electronically. The procedure for electronic issuance and for the official notification of an individual administrative-legal act is defined by a normative act of the government, and in Tbilisi or another self-governing city — by a normative act of the relevant city assembly. Official notification to an interested party means communicating the act by e-mail or other technical means — in practice, this allows the whole course of the application to be monitored remotely.
For objects of state fire supervision, the construction permit process requires a conclusion on compliance with fire safety requirements, issued — at the request of the permitting body — by the Emergency Management Service operating under the Ministry of Internal Affairs. For a commercial facility this stage is often decisive: without the conclusion the permit cannot be issued, so fire safety requirements should be built into the design from the outset. During the interim regulation of technical safety, the document confirming conformity of the building with technical safety norms is issued by the Technical and Construction Supervision Agency — another checkpoint your project documentation must pass.
Control, liability, and appeal
Compliance with permit conditions by the holder is controlled by the permit issuer, through selective inspection — unless otherwise provided by law, no more than once per calendar year. The issuer may not examine circumstances not directly connected with compliance with permit conditions; the decision to conduct a selective inspection is itself an administrative act that must be presented to the holder, and upon completion an inspection act is drawn up. Failure to comply with permit conditions leads to a fine, and continued or repeated non-compliance after the fine — to permit cancellation. A permit may also be suspended fully or partially where human life or health is endangered: in that case the issuer must apply to court within twenty-four hours to confirm the suspension, failing which the decision is deemed revoked and the permit restored; after remedying violations, the holder may request an on-site inspection, conducted within five working days. A decision to refuse, cancel, or suspend may be appealed to a superior administrative body or to court — and filing an appeal does not itself suspend the decision unless the body or the court decides otherwise.