Import Export Regulations — the Exhaustive List Principle
Permits connected with import and export in Georgia are regulated by the Law of Georgia on Licenses and Permits, and the foundation of this field is the exhaustive list principle: the exhaustive list of types of licenses and permits for the spheres of licensable activities and permit actions is determined by precisely this law. This page explains which permits an importer and exporter need for different products and under what rules those permits are issued.
The exhaustiveness of the list is strictly protected: it is impermissible to introduce, by another legislative or sub legislative act, a license or permit for an activity or action not provided for by this law. It is likewise impermissible for an administrative body to introduce, by a sub legislative normative act, an obligation that implies the establishment of a substantively licensing or permit regime for any activity or action, or the necessity of the consent of an administrative body in any form. In other words, a hidden permit — without the name of a permit — is excluded by law, which creates significant predictability for business: if a permit is not on the list, no one can demand it.
Permit Types Connected with Import and Export
The law's list of permit types includes, in connection with import export operations: permits for the transit and import of products subject to veterinary control; a permit for the import of products of plant origin subject to phytosanitary control; a permit for the import, export and transit of waste; and a permit for the import, export, re export and transit of substances provided for by the 1987 Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the ozone layer.
The list further includes: permits for the import, export and transit of radioactive material, its return to the producer, and the import and export of nuclear technologies or know how; a permit for the export of radioactive waste; and a permit for the export, import, re export and introduction from the sea of species included in the annexes of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, their parts and derivatives. The list also contains numerous firearms related permits, including permits for the import into and export from Georgia of weapons and ammunition by a citizen of a foreign country; and, in the future, from 1 September 2027, permits related to surface water objects will enter into force, as will, from 1 September 2026, the integrated environmental permit.