About this service
When a consumer's rights are violated, the law gives not only the court route but a special administrative one: filing an application with the Georgian National Competition and Consumer Protection Agency or the regulator of the relevant field. This procedure is faster and less costly than litigation, but it demands its own discipline: deadlines, evidence and a correct plan for reacting to the decision. This service helps consumers and businesses precisely within that administrative procedure — from preparing the application to appealing the Agency's decision.
Where the consumer applies
The law gives the consumer a choice: on a violation, the consumer may apply to the public-law legal entity — the Georgian National Competition and Consumer Protection Agency — or to the authorised regulator of the relevant field. This right does not cancel the right to apply to a court or arbitration, or to resolve the dispute through mediation — the administrative and judicial routes complement rather than replace each other. A distinction matters too: the Agency's competence does not extend to separately regulated sectors where consumer protection is ensured by the sector's own regulator; in such a case the Agency merely forwards the application to the relevant organ and informs the declarant.
How the examination begins
The grounds for opening an examination are defined by law: the declarant may submit an application concerning a suspected violation of consumer rights; the Agency opens an examination where it has information that, as a result of a specific person's actions, the rights of a group of consumers are violated or may be violated, and there is a reasonable supposition that the group's interests will be or may be harmed. The Agency's principal instrument is thus the protection of group interests — and the text of the application must fit that: not merely a personal story, but a showing of how the violation affects others as well.
Deadlines and procedure of the examination
The deadlines are fixed by law and knowing them is the declarant's chief instrument. Within 10 working days of the filing the Agency notifies the declarant of its reaction or of the absence of grounds. The examination must be completed within 1 month of the decision to open it; taking account of its significance and complexity, it may be extended by no more than 3 months. The running of the deadlines is suspended where additional information is requested or an expertise is appointed. The trader's position is protected too: within 3 working days of the decision to open the examination the Agency informs the trader and grants at least 5 working days to present a position. Where necessary the Agency appoints an expertise, if a substantiated decision is impossible without a conclusion — and where a violation is established, the trader must fully reimburse the cost of the expertise.
How the Agency responds to a violation
The Agency's powers at every stage are broad: it requests information from the declarant or the trader, including confidential information, and sets a reasonable deadline for its provision; summons parties for explanations; and where information is not provided within the deadline, imposes a fine. Where a violation is established, the Agency sets the trader a reasonable period to restore the violated right or demands cessation of the action deemed a violation; non-performance of the decision leads to a fine. Where an unfair standard term is found, the Agency may prohibit traders across the economic sector from applying such a term. In urgent cases the Agency applies to the court for interim suspension of certain actions of the trader.
Appeal of the decision
The Agency's decision may be appealed to the court within 30 calendar days of its delivery to the trader, under the procedure established by Georgian legislation. At the same time, appeal of a decision establishing a violation does not deprive the Agency of the right to impose the corresponding fine on the trader. Appeal therefore delays the consequences but does not fully remove the sanction risk — a circumstance to be accounted for when planning the process.
The success of the administrative procedure depends mostly on the quality of the first document. The application should consistently show: what happened and when; which right was violated; how this concerns other consumers too — since it is the group interest that opens the door to an examination; and what evidence confirms it — contract, receipt, correspondence, screenshots. It is worth planning, while awaiting the answer, the actions that preserve evidence: for example, sending notifications in formalised form and keeping a record of replies. In our practice most applications are weak exactly at this stage — which is why we recommend preparing it with a specialist.
For a business that has received an information request, the first days matter most: the law allows the Agency to set a reasonable deadline, and the completeness of the answer often determines whether the matter ends with explanations or grows into an established violation and a fine. A structured answer — what was done, on what legal basis, with what documents — is frequently the cheapest way to close the case.
How we can help
Our specialists assist across the whole cycle: we assess whether your case falls within the Agency's competence and how to frame the violation in its group context; we prepare the application with the necessary evidence; we monitor the deadlines — the Agency's reaction, the examination, the trader's position; and where necessary we prepare an appeal to the court. For business, we build a response strategy: a complete answer to an information request, timely presentation of the position and minimisation of fine risk. Contact us for a concrete plan for your case.