Farm operations in Georgia are governed by the food safety and animal feed code: breeding, driving, transporting, selling, and slaughtering animals, as well as producing plant products, all run under the special status of a business operator. If you run a farm, this page shows which registrations and veterinary or phytosanitary obligations apply to you and what fines are set for violations of the animal identification and registration rules.
Registration and approval as a business operator
The first step is registration: a business operator must register the relevant activity in the register of economic activities, and upon starting, ceasing, or changing any registered data connected with the activity — apply to the National Agency of Public Registry to amend the register. Carrying on activity as a business operator without registration is prohibited. Next comes the question of approval: approval is mandatory for a business operator whose activity is connected with the production or processing of food of animal origin, with animal feed, with non-food products of animal origin, or with the sphere of plant protection.
Approval is granted by the agency on the basis of inspection results, under rules approved by government decree, and operating a subject activity without approval is prohibited. At the same time, the law provides exceptions: approval is not required for an operator carrying out 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 with small business status; direct supply of meat of poultry and lagomorphs slaughtered on the farm, or of game; storage of food not requiring temperature control; and certain retail formats. The agency may also, upon request, approve an activity that is not subject to mandatory approval — sometimes a voluntary approval is useful for market access.