Car with foreign plates in Georgia: time limits and fines: what to do under Georgian law

What to do

1. Qualification and eligibility: temporary import is for use on condition that the car is re-exported (Customs Code of Georgia, Art. 137). The procedure holder is a person established outside Georgia (Art. 137). A person is considered established in Georgia if they are a Georgian citizen or a registered taxpayer (including an individual entrepreneur) (Customs Code of Georgia, Art. 6). A Georgian citizen, or a relocant who has become an individual entrepreneur, is the main risk and should be checked first.
2. Time limit: the declarant sets the period in the declaration. By its end, the car must be exported or the procedure changed (cleared through customs) (Art. 139). One holder may not hold the car for more than 3 years (Art. 139). An extension, including beyond 3 years, is granted only by customs on a reasoned application, and the total may not exceed 10 years (Art. 139). Find the date in the declaration and, before it, either leave, extend or clear the car through customs.
3. Payments and conditions: without full exemption (the list is set by a Ministry of Finance order), 3% of import payments is due for each calendar month, by the 15th of the following month (Art. 140), but not more than the full amount of payments (Art. 140). The car must be exported in unchanged condition (except for wear), with a guarantee and identification (Art. 138).
4. Sanctions: breach of the procedure or re-export conditions carries a fine of 500 lari, and 1,000 lari if repeated (Customs Code of Georgia, Art. 171); a repeat violation is one within 12 months (Art. 163); unlawful disposal (sale, transfer) carries a fine of 100% of import payments (Art. 172). Defence: a sanction may be waived for error or ignorance (Art. 163); the limitation period for a sanction is 3 years from the end of the year of the violation (Art. 163).
5. Appeal: a customs protocol is a tax demand (Art. 164). It is appealed within the Ministry of Finance system or in court; payment is suspended for the duration of the dispute (Art. 33). The complaint deadline is 30 days from service (Tax Code of Georgia, Art. 299).
6. Insurance: compulsory civil liability insurance is required for the entire stay (Law of Georgia on Compulsory Insurance of Civil Liability of Owners of Foreign-Registered Motor Vehicles, Art. 3). Without it, the fine is 100 lari, with 2 days to rectify (Code of Administrative Offences of Georgia, Art. 191¹). For a long stay, compare with customs clearance: on relocation for permanent residence, one vehicle per family is allowed without import tax (Tax Code of Georgia, Art. 199).
7. Where to apply: Revenue Service (Customs Department), then the Dispute Resolution Council of the Ministry of Finance or the court.
8. Evidence: temporary import declaration (time limit), vehicle registration certificate, power of attorney, insurance policy for the foreign vehicle, taxpayer status, document on permanent residence.
9. Traps: tying the car's time limit to the driver's visa-free period (the limit is set in the declaration); becoming an individual entrepreneur or a Georgian citizen and continuing to drive on a temporary import; selling or giving away the car without closing the procedure.

Be sure to check

• the temporary import time limit is set in the declaration; there is a limit for one holder and an overall limit; extension is granted only by customs
• who may hold a car on temporary import (Georgian citizen or taxpayer, i.e. 'established in Georgia')
• sanctions: fine for breach of procedure conditions, repeat violation, and 100% of payments for unlawful disposal
• compulsory insurance of a foreign car and the fine for lacking it
• appeal of the protocol and the option of customs clearance