Selling or buying property in Georgia remotely by power of attorney: what to do under Georgian law

What to do

1. Where to issue it (a simple written power of attorney sent by post is NOT suitable — an apostille is affixed only to an official, that is, notarised, document): abroad, notarial acts are performed by Georgian consulates (Law of Georgia on Notaries, Art. 42); or by a local notary — a notary in Georgia will accept a foreign power of attorney only with legalisation or an apostille (Law of Georgia on Notaries, Art. 55); for CIS countries, under the Convention on Legal Assistance and Legal Relations in Civil, Family and Criminal Matters (Minsk Convention), a document bearing the official seal of a member state is accepted without an apostille (Minsk Convention, Art. 13); an international treaty to which Georgia is party prevails (Law of Georgia on Notaries, Art. 56); notarial acts are carried out in Georgian, so a certified translation is needed (Law of Georgia on Notaries, Art. 6). Clarify the requirements for the power of attorney in advance at the Public Service Hall.
2. Content: the transfer of rights to real estate is governed by the law of the place where the property is located, that is, Georgian law (Law of Georgia on Private International Law, Art. 32); the notary verifies the representative's powers (Law of Georgia on Notaries, Art. 48) — specify the property (cadastral code), whether it is a sale or purchase, the signing, the registration, payment only into the principal's account, the minimum price and the term.
3. Limits and risks for the representative: without consent, the representative may not conclude a transaction with himself or herself (or as representative of the other party) (Civil Code of Georgia, Art. 114); an agent must hand over what he or she received, and must return with interest anything spent for his or her own benefit (Civil Code of Georgia, Art. 715). Termination: a power of attorney terminates on expiry of its term, revocation, death of the principal, or performance (Civil Code of Georgia, Art. 109); revocation must be communicated to third parties, otherwise it does not apply against them (Civil Code of Georgia, Art. 108).
4. Transaction and money: the buyer becomes owner upon registration of the right in the Public Registry (Civil Code of Georgia, Art. 183); payment is made by transfer to the seller's account, not in cash to the representative. Seller's tax: an individual's income from the sale of a flat or house is taxed at 5% (Tax Code of Georgia, Art. 81); income from the sale of housing that was owned for more than 2 years is exempt (Tax Code of Georgia, Art. 82).
5. Where to apply: Georgian consulate abroad; notary in Georgia; Public Registry / Public Service Hall — registration.
6. Evidence: passport, registry extract, power of attorney with apostille and translation, the seller's account details.
7. Pitfalls: a simple (non-notarial) power of attorney, or one without an apostille or legalisation and translation — the notary and the registry will not accept it; a 'general' power of attorney with the right to receive cash; an old, forgotten power of attorney — revocation was not communicated to the notary and the buyer; a sale by the representative to himself or herself at an undervalue.

Be sure to check

• where to issue the power of attorney from abroad (Georgian consulate or local notary + apostille/legalisation; Minsk Convention for CIS) and translation into Georgian
• content of the powers (property, sale or purchase, registration, receipt of money into the principal's account)
• limits of the representative (ban on self-dealing, duty to hand over money) and revocation with notification
• transfer of ownership — registration in the registry; the seller's tax and the exemption after two years of ownership