WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION  G/LIC/N/3/GEO/3 
4 September 2006 
 
 (06-4195) 
Committee on Import Licensing Original:   English 
  
 
REPLIES TO QUESTIONNAIRE ON IMPORT LICENSING PROCEDURES
1 
 
Notification under Article 7.3 of the  
Agreement on Import Licensing Procedures  
 
GEORGIA 
 
 The following communication, dated 4 August 2006, is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegation of Georgia.  
_______________ 
 
Outline of systems
 
 
1. Aiming at simplification of the licensing system and reduction of administrative barriers, the 
Parliament of Georgia adopted the new Law on “Licences and Permissions” on 24 June 2005.  
According to the new system of business licensing, effective from 2005, the total number of 
licences and permits has been reduced to 144 (92 licen ces and 52 permits).  This represents only 16% 
of the licences and permits existing before 200 5. The number of licences and permits for 
export/import was reduced from 14 main groups to 8. 
Main innovations of the new system are: 
• One Stop Shop – a business a pplies to only one body. 
• “Silence is consent” – if no reasonable rejecti on is given within a predetermined time limit, 
the licence/permit is deemed issued by the licensing authority.  
• Simplified procedures for licence issuance if th e applicant demands a licence/permission for a 
particular business and has another licence/perm ission in the same sphere of business activity 
 
There are no restrictions of licensing requirements or other non-tariff barriers, except for 
necessity to protect public health,  national security and environment. 
Purposes and coverage of licensing  
 
2. The import of the following products is subject to permission in Georgia: 
(a) Products of floral origin subject to phytosanitary control; 
(b) Products subject to veterinary control; 
(c) endangered  wild flora or fauna specimens; 
(d) nuclear, radioactive objects, nuclear materials,  radioactive substances, radioactive wastes, 
minerals (subsoil) from which it is practically possi ble to extract nuclear materials, all that is 
                                                      
1 See document G/LIC/3, Annex, for the Questionnaire. G/LIC/N/3/GEO/3 
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  made of nuclear materials or radioactive substa nces or contains them as a component, also 
nuclear technologies; 
(e) military equipment and technique; 
(f) medicines and pharmaceuticals subject of special control; 
(g) product of dual purposes; 
(h) non-iodic salt; 
(i) surveillance equipment; 
  In the case of (a) and (b) and (h) the licence on importation is granted by the Ministry of 
Agriculture.   
 
 In case of (c), (d) and (j) the licence is granted by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources.     In the case of (e), (i) the permission on importation is granted by the Ministry of Justice, 
according to the recommendation of the Permanen t Commission on Military-Technical Issues of the 
Ministry of Defence of Georgia.     In the case of (f) the permission is granted by the Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia, taking into account the requirements of the existing UN Convention.    
 In case of (g) the licence is granted by the Ministry of Economic Development. 
 3. The licences and permissions apply to any product imported from any country, and products 
originating in any country. 
 The import of products specified in case (b) can be restricted if the place of their origin was 
identified as the infected zone with respect to an imal disease listed by Terrestrial Animal Health 
Code.     4. The licence and permission requirements do not in clude any quantitative or value restrictions.  
In case of (a) and (b) the objective is to protect the safety of food products. In case of (c) (d) and (j) 
the permission is required for the environmental reas ons. In the case of (f) and (h), import permission 
is for public health purposes.  In the case of (e), (i ) and (g) the permission aims to ensure the interests 
of national and international security.   
5. The import licensing
2 system is regulated by the Law of Georgia on “Licenses and 
Permissions” 2005; the Law of Georgia on ”Licensing and Permission Fees” 2003 .  In addition to that: 
(a) Issuing  permissions for import of weapons is regulated by the Law of Georgia on “Control of 
Import and Export of Armaments, Military Equipment and Products of Dual Purposes” 1998; “Law on Arms” 2003; Governmental Decree # 144 of  23 August 2005 on “Rules for Issuing Licences and Permissions Related to Trade with Weapons”  
(b) Issuing permissions for imports of pesticides is regulated by the Law of Georgia on 
“Pesticides and Agricultural Chemicals”, 1998 ;  
(c) Governmental Decree # 143 of 18 August 2005 on  “Rules and Terms on Issuing the Import  
Permission by the Relevant Authorities of Ministry of Agriculture of Georgia for the transitional period”;   
                                                     
 
2 The word “Licence” is used  with  the meaning  of “permission”.  G/LIC/N/3/GEO/3 
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  (d) Issuing permission for import of medicines and pharmaceuticals subject of special control is 
regulated by the following regulatory acts:  Law of Georgia on “the Narcotics, Psychotropic Substances, Precursors and Narcological Aid” 2002, Law of Georgia on “Medicine and Pharmaceutical Activities” and  Decree of the Mi nister of Labour, Health and Social Affairs 
of Georgia # 22/6 of 22 January 2004  on “Adopt ed List of Narcotic Drugs,  Psychotropic 
Substances, Precursors and Selected Medicin es Contain Psychoactive Substances and Rules 
on Their Legal Turnover”; the Decree of the Government of Georgia # 176 of 14 October 
2005 on “Clinical Research of Pharmaceutical Production, Pharmacies Equipping and as well as Rules and Terms on Issuing Permission  for Import or Export of Pharmaceuticals Subject 
of Special Control”. 
(e) Convention on International Trad e in Endangered Species of W ild Fauna and Flora (CITES), 
Governmental Decree # 135 of 11 Augus t 2005 on “Rules for Issuing Licences and 
Permissions for nuclear and radioactive activities”, Governmental Decree # 96 of 31 May 2006 on “Rules and Terms for Issuing Permissi ons for Import, Export, Re-export or Re-
import of Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora” 
(f) Governmental Decree # 102 of 31 May 2006 on “A mendments to the Governmental  Decree  
# 185 of 14 October 2005 on Rules and Terms on Issuing the Import  Permission for Non-iodic salt” regulates the import of non-iodic salt.     
 The licensing system is administered by the different governmental bodies. 
  The Government of Georgia has no authorizati on to abolish the system without legislation 
amendments. The abolishment of system requires legislative changes.  
  The legislation does not leave designation of products to be subjected to licensing to administrative discretion . 
 Procedures
 
 
6. The legislation of Georgia does not envisage any quantitative restrictions.  However there   are 
quantitative restrictions on imports of medicines s ubject to special control, such a narcotics, 
psychotropic substances, precursors, the quotas of wh ich are determined by the Ministry of Labour, 
Health and Social Affairs of Georgia taking into account the requirements of the existing UN 
Convention and the list on quantity has to be sent to the UN International  Narcotics  Control Board  
for the approval.  
 The Parliament of Georgia is authorized to  present to the Permanent Commission on Military-
Technical Issues of the Ministry of Defence of Ge orgia the list of countries for which the import of 
military equipment, arms and products of dual purposes might be restricted. 
 
I. The information regarding the import of military equipment and arms is confidential for national security reasons.   The list of narcotics, psychotropic substances,  precursors, subject to special control, is 
attached to the Law of Georgia on “the Narc otics, Psychotropic Materials, Precursors and 
Narcological Aid”. The information on allocation of quotas and formalities for application are 
available for public.  The total amount of the quotas are available from the UN  International Narcotics Control Board web-site.    The information concerning the registration of importers of narcotics, psychotropic 
substances, precursors, subject to special cont rol is available from the State Drug Agency.   G/LIC/N/3/GEO/3 
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 The information regarding issued licences a nd related formalities is available from the 
Institutional Register for Licences/Permissions and State Register, which includes a full data base of 
mentioned information. 
  The information on formalities of filing appli cations for a licence as well as amendments or 
its termination is published in the official Georgi an agency of press “Georgian legislative news”. 
 II. The size of quotas on weapons and other milit ary equipment is determined by the Permanent 
Joint Commission on Military-Technical Issues of the Ministry of Defence of Georgia. 
 
 The state quota for drugs and psychotropic subs tances is determined annually in accordance 
to country needs under the international control a nd approval by UN International Narcotics  Control 
Board. The Ministry of Labor, Health and Social  Affairs determines the annual  quotas  and submits 
them for further  approval to UN Inte rnational Narcotics Control Board. 
 
 If the size of the quota is determined on an a nnual basis but permission is issued for imports 
on a six-month or quarterly basis, the importer has to apply for a new permission.   III. The permission on the import of medicines subject to special control is given only to the legal 
entities holding the relevant licence for their busin ess activities.  Before the importation the legal 
entities have to receive the preliminary permissi on issued by the State Drug Agency. After the 
importation, the Customs Authorities record the quantity of imported goods after that inform the Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia (Drug Agency), which subsequently notifies 
the relevant authorities of exporting country about  the importation. Correspondingly the names of 
legal persons possessing the import permission are known to government.    
  The unused allocations are added to quotas for a succeeding period.  
 IV. The application for import permission for medicines subject of special control can be submitted immediately after a nnouncing the opening of quotas . 
 
V. The decision on granting import permission for narcotics, psychotropic substances, precursors 
is taken maximum within 3 months period and minimum in 10 days after the acceptance of the 
application in accordance to the Chapter VI  of Administrative Code of Georgia. 
 
VI. Importers are able to import commodities as soon as they receive the permission. 
 VII. The import of narcotics, psychotropic subs tances and precursors is allowed by State order 
only. The list and the quotas of the above-mentione d medicines, determined by the Ministry of 
Labour, Health and Social Affairs together with the Ministry of Interior Affairs of Georgia, 
subsequently is presented to Georgian  Parliament for the final approval. 
 
 The Permanent Joint Commission of Military-Technical Issues of the Ministry of Defence considers the licence application on import of we apons, military equipment and techniques.  The 
recommendation of the above-mentioned Commission is compulsory for the granting of the import licence by the Ministry of Justice. 
 
VIII. If the demand for permission cannot be fully satisfied the allocation of quotas for medicines 
and pharmaceuticals subject to special control is made in accordance to the relevant regulatory acts 
specified in paragraph 5 and the quotas are allo cated per applicant at a certain quantity.  
  G/LIC/N/3/GEO/3 
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  IX. The import permission for medicines and pharmaceuticals subject to special control is 
required in any case. Besides, the exporting country has to possess the original copy of the tentative 
agreement with the importing country, then to no tify the UN International Narcotics Control Board 
about the export from her country.   
X. The import of medicines and pharmaceuticals subject to special control is implemented by 
State (Drug Agency) order. After the mentione d products were imported/ exported, the Customs 
Authorities of Georgia records the quantity of imported/exported goods, informs the Ministry of Labour, Health and Social Affairs of Georgia, whic h subsequently notifies the relevant authorities of 
exporting country about the importation. 
 
 After the export of medicines and pharmaceuticals subject to special control has been completed, the Ministry of Labour, Health and So cial Affairs of Georgia (Drug Agency)  requests 
from the competent authorities of the importing country the information regarding quantity of exported goods and their place of destination.  
 
XI. There are no products for wh ich licences are issued on cond ition that commodities should be 
exported and not sold in the domestic market.  7. (a) The legislation does not define the specific time frame for licence/permission application 
before the importation, however the maximum time for obtaining a licence is 30 days for 
permission,  20 days after subm ission of completed documents. 
(b) There is no defined shorter time-limit, but th e legislation provides that if no reasonable 
rejection is given within a predetermined time limit, the licence/permit is deemed issued by 
the licensing authority. 
 For the products specified in case (a), (b ) and (h) the minimum period for issuing the 
permission is 1 day and maximum 20 days. 
 
(c) There are no limitations for the period of the year during which applications for import 
permission may be made. 
(d) The Law of Georgia on “Licences and Permi ssions” provides the principle of “One Stop 
Shop” – a business applies to only one body. In  case of importation of products of dual 
purposes the applicant has to obtain the reco mmendation of the Permanent Joint Commission 
of Military-Technical Issues of the Ministry of Defence of Georgia. 
 In all other cases, consideration of licence applications is carried out by a single 
administrative organ. 
 
8. The reasons for rejection of a licence may be the following: 
(a) the application presented by the applicant does no t fulfil the requirements prescribed by  the 
relevant law;  
(b) the application presented by the applicant does not fulfil the terms adopted by the local 
governmental bodies according to the relevant law. 
 The reasons for refusal are given to the appli cant in written form.  The applicant has the right 
to appeal for refusal in the upper administrative organ or the court. 
 G/LIC/N/3/GEO/3 
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   The application for import of products specified in  case (a) and (b) can be rejected if the place 
of the origin of product was identified as the infected  zone with respect to an animal disease listed by 
Terrestrial Animal Health Code  
Eligibility of importers to apply for licence
 
 
9. (a)  Under restrictive licensing system - the e ligibility to apply for permission on importation of 
narcotic and phsycotropical substa nces have only a) legal entity po ssessing the licence on this activity 
and b) medical-research institutions.  A person convi cted in court and recorded at the narcological  
dispensary is not eligible for licences. 
(b) Under the non-restrictive system any pe rson has the right to obtain a licence. 
 There is no system of registration of persons  or firms permitted to engage in importation. 
There is no registration fee. There is a list of licence holders published in State Register of    Licences/Permissions.   
Documentational and other require ments for application for licence
 
 
10. The application should be made in written fo rm (Article 78 of the General Administrative 
Code of Georgia) which includes the following: 
• name of administrative organ, the applicant addresses to; 
• name  and address of applicant; 
• request; 
• date of submission and signature; 
• list of attached documents if any. 
 
 The following documentation should be s ubmitted together with the application: 
 
• note from the State Register for legal entities of Private Law and individual entrepreneurs; 
• for natural persons – identification document; 
• for legal entities of Public Law – certified copies of documents on establishment together; 
with  
• the document on payment of permission fees; 
• for import of  products specified in case (b) Ve terinary Certificate, for biological agent – 
registration note, for products specifies in case (h) note on non edibility; 
• for import of products specified  in case (c) certif icate of origin issued by exporting country, 
in case of import live specimens, the documentation on relevant terms of storage and  
maintenance as well as precise information on recipient (full name and address).    
 11. Upon importation it is required to present doc umentation necessary for customs clearance:  
(in particular: customs declaration; document on  authorization of applicant; contract between 
individuals involved in transaction; document on tr ansportation; invoice; certificate of tax payer; 
certificate of origin) along with import permission.    
12. There is a one-time mandatory fee for obtai ning the permissions aiming to cover the 
administrative expenses. The amount for the  perm ission fees are determined in accordance to the 
Law of Georgia on “Licensing and Permission Fees”.  G/LIC/N/3/GEO/3 
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   The Law of Georgia on “Licensing and Permission Fees” envisages the fee of 30 GEL3 for the 
import permission for product of dual purposes.   For biological, medical, chemical and pharmaceutic al agents (used in veterinary), products of 
animal origin, animal feed  the amount for issuing permission is 50 GEL, for live animal and animal 
origin stuff 30 GEL, and for the products of flor al origin subject to phytosanitary control 25 GEL. 
 13. There is no advance payment. 
Conditions of licensing
 
 14. In general the permission is issued for an un limited time period, as well as for defined time 
period, stipulated by Law. The validity of a permission can be extended by government upon a 
justified request from administrative orga ns responsible to issue permissions. 
 The validity of a permission can be automatica lly extended if the terms for the obtaining the 
licence were not amended according to the rele vant Law and the applicant would present the 
application along  with the bill of payment of permission fee.  
  The validity of an import permission for products subject to veterinary control is one month;  
the validity of an import permission for products of floral origin subject to phytosanitary control is 
maximum 6 months, that can be extended from 3 to 6 months;  the validity of import permission for 
endangered wild flora or fauna sp ecimens is 12 months;  the valid ity of an import permission for 
products specified in case (d) is up to 6 months.  
 15. There are no penalties for the non-use of a licence. 
16. The issued permissions can be transferable among importers if it is not forbidden according to 
legislation. The licence is not transferable by right of succession. 
17. There are no other conditions attach ed to the issue of a licence. 
Other procedural requirements
 
 
18. There are no other administrative procedures for obtaining a licence. 
19. The imported commodities are automatically pr ovided with foreign exchange by banking 
authorities. 
 The licence is not required as a condition of obt aining foreign exchange.  Foreign exchange is 
always available to cover an issued licence/perm ission. There are no formalities for obtaining foreign 
exchange.  
__________ 
 
  
                                                     
 
3 The exchange rate US$ 1.76 for July 2006