Customs clearance of an imported car: what to do under Georgian law

What to do

1. Customs clearance means release for free circulation through a declaration with the Revenue Service (Customs Department). Establish: year of manufacture, engine capacity, type (petrol, hybrid or electric), steering wheel position, country of production, and permanent residence status.
2. Excise is the main amount (rate × cubic centimetres). Age = the year the customs declaration is registered minus the year of manufacture (Tax Code of Georgia, Art. 188). Excise on cars aged 0 to 6 years inclusive is 1.50 lari per cubic centimetre (Tax Code of Georgia, Art. 188); cars older than 6 years pay 4.50 lari per cubic centimetre (Art. 188). Crossing the 6-year threshold triples the rate, so the year the declaration is filed decides.
3. Adjustments: a left-hand-drive hybrid aged 0 to 6 years has a rate 60% lower (Art. 188); a right-hand-drive (converted) car has a rate three times higher (Art. 188); a left-hand-drive electric car pays no excise (Art. 194); a right-hand-drive electric car pays 3,000 lari (Art. 188).
4. Import tax is separate from excise. Import tax is 0.05 lari per cubic centimetre plus 5% of that amount for each year of operation (Art. 197); electric cars pay no import tax (Art. 199); no import tax applies to a car produced in a country of the 1994 CIS Free Trade Agreement and imported from there (origin decides, not the place of purchase) (Art. 199). VAT: import of a passenger car is exempt from VAT (Art. 173).
5. Benefits: relocation for permanent residence (document under Ministry of Justice rules) allows one vehicle per family without import tax (Art. 199) and without excise (Art. 194). Resale abroad: export within 180 calendar days gives a refund of 100% of the excise and of the import tax (Art. 198) (Art. 189).
6. Deadlines and procedure: complete the procedure while the car is in temporary storage, within 30 days (customs may extend this by 60) (Customs Code of Georgia, Art. 78); import tax is due no later than 5 days from release (the minister may extend this to 45) (Customs Code of Georgia, Art. 65); then registration and number plates through the Service Agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs (Law of Georgia on Road Traffic, Art. 53).
7. Where to apply: Revenue Service (Customs Department); Service Agency of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. For a dispute: complaint to the Revenue Service, then the Dispute Resolution Council of the Ministry of Finance or the court.
8. Evidence: invoice or auction document, vehicle title (year, VIN, engine capacity, fuel), bill of lading or CMR, certificate of origin, document on permanent residence, power of attorney for the broker.
9. Traps: calculating with the old year-based excise table (the line on passenger cars in Art. 188, part 1 has been repealed; the rate now has two tiers, up to 6 years and over 6 years); budgeting VAT on import of a passenger car; confusing the country of purchase with the country of origin; the CIS exemption does not remove excise; for a right-hand-drive car the rate is three times higher, and the hybrid benefit does not apply.

Be sure to check

• excise rate by age: up to 6 years inclusive or over 6 years, per cubic centimetre; how age is calculated
• adjustments: left-hand-drive hybrid (−60%), right-hand drive (three times the rate), electric cars
• import tax is separate from excise; no VAT is paid on import of a passenger car
• procedure: temporary storage and declaration with the Revenue Service, payment, registration with the Service Agency
• benefits on relocation for permanent residence and a refund on export within 180 days