The Licensable Core of Transportation Law
Transportation law is a broad field, yet the licensing law singles out within it a specific circle bearing a permit regime. The catalogue of permit types contains the transport-related types: the permit for regular passenger transport within the administrative boundaries of a municipality and its companion type — the permit for transport by passenger car, taxi, in the capital of Georgia or another self-governing city; the permit for specialised exploitation, that is, the carrying out of aviation works, and the permit for non-regular international air transport; the permit for automobile passenger transport; the permit for international road freight transport; and the permit for a one-time international road freight transport carried out from the territory of Georgia by a foreign carrier above the established quota. This catalogue determines which transport segments require a state permit — the remaining segments are regulated by other legislation.
Regular Transport within a Municipality — by Competition
The permit for regular passenger transport within the administrative boundaries of a municipality is issued, by way of competition, by the executive organ of the municipality. Within the administrative boundaries of the Tbilisi municipality the issuer is the Government of the Tbilisi municipality, its empowered structural unit of the Mayor’s office or a legal entity founded by the municipality; in another self-governing city — the executive organ of that city, its empowered structural unit of the Mayor’s office or a public-law legal entity founded by the self-governing city. The seeker who wins the competition pays the price of issuance of the permit, while no fee is charged upon the issuance of this permit. The price of issuance is determined, and the rules for conducting the competition and paying the price are approved, by the representative organ of the municipality, and the price is credited to the budget of the respective municipality. Issuance by competition means that market entry happens not through a direct application but through selection — and that selection is the competence of local self-government.
Taxi in the Capital and Self-Governing Cities
The permit for transport by passenger car — taxi — in the capital of Georgia is issued by the Government of the Tbilisi municipality, its empowered structural unit of the Mayor’s office or a legal entity founded by the municipality, and in another self-governing city — by the structural unit of that city’s Mayor’s office or a public-law legal entity founded by it. The seeker pays the price of issuance for this permit as well, and no fee is charged. The permit conditions, the issuance procedure, the price and its payment are approved in the capital by the representative organ — the Sakrebulo — and in another self-governing city by that city’s Sakrebulo; the price is credited to the budget of the respective city. This arrangement moves the regulation of taxis to the city level, because it is the city that sees the local transport demand.
Freight and Air Directions
In the freight segment the catalogue distinguishes two types: the permit for international road freight transport and the one-time transport permit for a foreign carrier above the quota — the latter created precisely for the situation where a foreign carrier performs a one-time international transport from the territory of Georgia beyond the established quota. In the air direction the catalogue covers the permit for specialised exploitation — aviation works — and the permit for non-regular international air transport. This distribution of types reflects that the state applies controls of differing intensity to differing transport segments: municipal passenger routes are allocated through competition, taxi services are regulated at the city level, and freight crossing the state border is controlled through the international transport permits.
What These Norms Do Not Determine
The norms at this page’s foundation establish the types and the issuing organs, but contain no detailed list of application documents, no competition calendar and no concrete amounts of the issuance price — the price and the rules are set by the representative organs, while the general rules on documentation and proceedings are established by other norms of the licensing law. Therefore, before a specific application, verify the current competition announcement and requirements with the respective municipality.
Frequently Asked Questions
Below are frequent questions of transport law.
Which permits relate to transport and carriage?
Permits for transit and import of products subject to veterinary control, the import permit for plant products subject to phytosanitary control, and the permit for import, export and transit of waste.
What concerns international conventions?
The permit for import, export, re-export and transit of ozone-depleting substances under the Montreal Protocol; and the rules on trade in species included in the annexes of the CITES convention.
What permits exist for dangerous and radioactive cargo?
A permit for the use of industrial explosives; acquisition within the country of radioactive material and its import, export, transit or return to the producer; and export of radioactive waste.
How We Help on Legal.ge
First, establish the exact type of your activity — municipal regular transport, taxi, automobile passenger transport or international freight — because the issuing organ and the form of issuance depend on it. Second, for municipal regular transport expect a competition: its announcement and conditions are published by the representative organ. Third, taxi permit conditions are set by the city Sakrebulo’s acts — the rules for Tbilisi and other self-governing cities differ. Fourth, note that no fee is charged on these permits — the charge takes the form of a one-time issuance price credited to the budget.