Importing into and exporting from Georgia: duties, deals, free zones and the routes in and out.
Georgia sits between the EU, Türkiye, the Caspian and Central Asia, has free trade with both the EU and China, and keeps most import duties at zero. This guide covers how customs works, what you'll pay, which deals and special regimes fit which business, and where the lines are. Then how we set it up for you.
Four numbers to start with.
The rest of this page is the detail behind them.
0 / 5 / 12%
Import duty bands
Every import line sits in one of three bands, on the customs value. The large majority of goods are in the 0% band; farm produce and some building materials carry the higher rates.
18%
Import VAT
Charged at the border on the customs value plus any duty. A VAT-registered business that sells the goods on can usually claim it back; for everyone else it's a cost.
0%
Duty on exports
Georgia doesn't tax goods leaving the country, and exports are zero-rated for VAT, so a VAT-registered exporter can recover the VAT it paid on its costs.
15%
Profit tax, when distributed
A Georgian company pays profit tax when it pays profit out, not while it keeps and reinvests it. Special regimes for re-export and free zones go further (see below).
A small market with very wide doors.
Georgia has 3.7 million people. The reason traders come isn't the home market, it's what Georgia connects to.
Free trade with the EU and China
Georgia has a deep free trade area with the EU and a full free trade agreement with China, plus the UK, EFTA, Türkiye, Hong Kong, the UAE and most of the former Soviet states. Few countries have both the EU and China. The government counts 46 countries and one territory, covering 87% of its exports.
Low duties to start with
Three bands (0%, 5%, 12%) and most goods at zero. Even without a trade deal, the duty bill on most manufactured goods is small; the bigger number is the 18% VAT.
Sea, rail and road in one place
Black Sea container ports at Poti and Batumi, rail to Azerbaijan, Türkiye and on across the Caspian (the 'Middle Corridor' to Central Asia and China), and road crossings to Türkiye, Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia.
A real re-export hub
More than half of what leaves Georgia was made somewhere else. In 2025, cars alone were 38.6% of all exports. The customs system is built for goods that come in, wait, and go on.
EU-style transit paperwork
Since 1 February 2025 Georgia is in the EU's common transit system (NCTS), so a transit declaration can run from an EU customs office to a Georgian one on one electronic document.
Regimes made for trading
A customs warehouse to hold goods without paying duty or VAT, Special Trading Company status for re-export profits, and free industrial zones for production. Each has strict rules, set out below.
How goods come into Georgia, step by step.
Customs is run by the Revenue Service, part of the Ministry of Finance. Most of it is electronic; the steps that cost people money are the first three.
- 1
Classify the goods and check the rules
Find the product's tariff code (the HS code), its duty band, and whether it needs anything else: a veterinary or plant-health permit from the National Food Agency for food, animals and plants; a permit for dual-use goods; registration for medicines, pesticides and chemicals; and any Georgian technical regulation for the product type. Get the code wrong and everything after it is wrong too.
- 2
Decide who imports
The importer is the person who declares the goods and, under Georgia's product safety code, answers for them on the market. That's usually a Georgian company (an LLC) or an Individual Entrepreneur with a Georgian tax number. A foreign company can sell to a Georgian importer instead of importing itself.
- 3
Line up origin paperwork
If you want the 0% rate under a free trade deal, the supplier has to send proof that the goods were made in the partner country: a EUR.1 certificate or an origin declaration for EU goods, the agreed certificate for China, and so on. No proof, no preference, even if the goods really are Chinese or German.
- 4
Ship and declare
Goods arrive by sea (Poti, Batumi), road, rail or air and are declared to the Revenue Service. Storage at the port or clearance zone costs money by the day, so the paperwork should be ready before the goods are. You can declare yourself through the Revenue Service's online system or use a licensed customs representative. Declaring electronically before the goods arrive is quicker and cheaper.
- 5
Inspection channel
Each declaration is risk-scored. Low-risk goods with an advance declaration can be released at the border checkpoint; others go to a customs clearance zone for document checks or a physical inspection. A single-consignee shipment that needs inspection can sometimes be examined at the importer's own warehouse.
- 6
Pay and release
Import duty and VAT are due no later than 5 calendar days after the goods are released. Paying late adds interest. Money can be kept on deposit with the Revenue Service so fees come off automatically.
- 7
After the border
Consumer goods need the information a buyer is owed in Georgian. The importer keeps the technical file for regulated products, answers market surveillance questions, and keeps customs records. A VAT-registered importer claims the import VAT back in its return.
The documents customs will ask for
- Commercial invoice (the price is the starting point for customs value)
- Packing list
- Transport document: bill of lading, CMR road note, rail waybill or air waybill
- Proof of origin, where you want a free trade rate
- Any permit or certificate the product needs (veterinary, plant health, dual-use, conformity)
- The sales contract and proof of payment, if customs questions the value
- Power of attorney, if a customs representative declares for you
One container, two duty bands.
Customs value is the price paid for the goods plus freight and insurance to the Georgian border (CIF). Duty is a percentage of that; VAT is 18% of the value plus the duty. Here's the same GEL 54,000 consignment in the 0% band and the 5% band.
The Revenue Service also charges a clearance fee per declaration, in bands by customs value: from about GEL 100 for small consignments to GEL 300 to 400 above GEL 15,000. Filing the declaration electronically yourself, before the goods arrive, brings it down; clearing on a holiday or outside working hours can double it.
For a VAT-registered importer that sells the goods on, the import VAT usually comes back through the VAT return, so the real cost is the duty, the fees and the cash tied up until the refund. For a business that isn't registered, the VAT is a cost to price in.
| Line | 0% band | 5% band |
|---|---|---|
| Goods (invoice price) | GEL 50,000 | GEL 50,000 |
| Freight and insurance to Georgia | GEL 4,000 | GEL 4,000 |
| Customs value | GEL 54,000 | GEL 54,000 |
| Import duty (0% or 5% band) | GEL 0 | GEL 2,700 |
| Import VAT at 18% of value plus duty | GEL 9,720 | GEL 10,206 |
| Taxes at the border | GEL 9,720 | GEL 12,906 |
Plus the Revenue Service fee per declaration, freight forwarding and storage. Goods of EU, Chinese or other free trade origin can be in the 0% band whatever their normal rate, with the right proof of origin.
Who Georgia trades with duty-free, and what you need to prove it.
A deal only helps goods that count as made in the partner country under its rules of origin, and only when the paperwork travels with them.
European Union (DCFTA)
Applied since 1 September 2014; Association Agreement in force since 1 July 2016
Removes import duties both ways and aligns Georgian product rules with the EU's. Proof of origin: EUR.1 (issued by the Revenue Service, valid 10 months) or an origin declaration.
United Kingdom
In force since 1 January 2021
The Strategic Partnership and Cooperation Agreement carried the EU deal's trade terms over after Brexit.
EFTA (Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein)
In force from 2017 to 2018, by country
Duty-free access for Georgian goods; check the product lists for farm goods.
China
In force since 1 January 2018
Georgia kept tariffs on about 4% of goods; China kept them on about 10%, some phased out over five years. Check the schedule for your line.
Hong Kong
In force since 13 February 2019
Hong Kong opened fully; Georgia kept tariffs on about 3.4% of lines.
Türkiye
In force since 2008
Road access through Sarpi makes this one of the most used.
United Arab Emirates (CEPA)
In force since 27 June 2024
A comprehensive economic partnership covering goods, services and investment.
CIS countries and Ukraine
CIS free trade zone since 1994; bilateral agreements
Duty-free trade with most former Soviet states. Russia and Uzbekistan have their own exceptions and rules.
Sending goods out of Georgia.
No export duty, no VAT on the sale
Georgia doesn't tax goods leaving the country, and exports are zero-rated for VAT. A VAT-registered exporter recovers the VAT on its own costs, which matters when you buy locally and sell abroad.
The export declaration
Goods are declared for export (or re-export, if they came in from abroad) to the Revenue Service. Re-exported goods must leave essentially unchanged, apart from normal wear, transport and storage.
Proof of Georgian origin
For the EU, the Revenue Service issues the EUR.1 movement certificate; it's valid for 10 months and the exporter keeps the evidence of origin for at least 3 years. Other deals have their own certificates.
Permits for sensitive goods
Dual-use goods need an export, re-export or transit permit; plant and animal products need plant-health or veterinary certificates; protected species need CITES papers.
Transit through Georgia
Goods crossing Georgia on the way somewhere else travel under transit. Since 1 February 2025 that runs on NCTS, the EU's electronic transit system, backed by a bond or deposit that covers the duty and VAT until the goods leave.
Food and farm exports to the EU
Duty-free access doesn't skip food safety: the EU's own rules on approved establishments, residues and certificates still apply, and are where most first shipments get stuck.
Four ways to hold a Georgian trading business, compared.
The special regimes are generous and narrow. Each fits one kind of trade; outside it, an ordinary company is usually cheaper.
Ordinary Georgian company (LLC)
Importing to sell in Georgia, or buying in Georgia to export.
- Tax
- 15% profit tax only when profit is paid out; 18% VAT once taxable sales pass GEL 100,000 in any 12 months; import VAT recoverable once registered.
- Rules
- No special status needed. Customs, VAT and bookkeeping run as for any trading company.
- Watch
- Profit paid out to you is taxed again as a dividend, so plan how you'll take money out before the first shipment.
Individual Entrepreneur with Small Business Status
A one-person trading business with turnover under GEL 500,000 a year.
- Tax
- 1% of turnover (3% if you go over the limit), instead of income tax on profit. Import VAT is still paid at the border.
- Rules
- Some activities are excluded and the status has its own limits. Our Georgia 1% guide has the detail.
- Watch
- Fine for testing a product. A business that will hold stock, borrow or take on partners is usually better in a company.
Special Trading Company
Buying foreign goods, holding them in a Georgian customs warehouse, and selling them abroad.
- Tax
- Profit from the permitted activities is exempt from profit tax when distributed. Goods in the customs warehouse carry no import duty or VAT.
- Rules
- The status is granted by the Revenue Service. The company may re-export foreign goods from the warehouse, sell them to other businesses while they stay in the warehouse, and buy foreign goods for that purpose at no less than their customs value.
- Watch
- It can't sell into Georgia or trade Georgian-made goods under the status, and the warehouse records have to match the books exactly.
Free industrial zone enterprise (Poti, Kutaisi, Tbilisi)
Making, assembling or processing goods for export.
- Tax
- Exempt from profit tax, dividend tax, VAT inside the zone, import duty on foreign goods brought in, and property tax in the zone.
- Rules
- Registered inside the zone (a foreign company needs a registered branch there). Weapons, nuclear material, drugs and tobacco are banned. Services from ordinary Georgian businesses are limited to a list (transport, telecoms, audit, consulting, finance and a few others).
- Watch
- Selling into Georgia costs 4% of the sale plus import VAT, and buying from Georgian businesses costs 4% too. Built for exporters, not for a trading company serving the local market.
Holding stock without paying yet: a customs warehouse keeps foreign goods outside Georgia's tax net until they're imported or sent on, and temporary admission lets goods come in for a set period (exhibitions, equipment for a project) with full or partial relief. Both need the right permit and records.
Small and starting out? See the Georgia 1% guide for Individual Entrepreneur status.
The routes in and out.
Georgia is the western end of the Middle Corridor between China, Central Asia and Europe, and the main Black Sea outlet for Armenia and Azerbaijan.
Sea
Poti handles about 80% of Georgia's containers and is run by APM Terminals; a new berth is being built. Batumi is deeper and handled 109,600 containers in 2025. The Anaklia deep-sea port is under construction as a state-owned port with private terminal operators, and isn't open yet.
Rail
Georgian Railway links Poti and Batumi to Azerbaijan, Armenia and, through the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars line, Türkiye. Across the Caspian, the Middle Corridor reaches Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and China. The first phase of the Tbilisi Dry Port opened in June 2025.
Road
Sarpi to Türkiye, Red Bridge to Azerbaijan, Sadakhlo to Armenia, and Upper Lars to Russia. Road freight from Türkiye is often the fastest way to stock a Georgian warehouse.
Air
Tbilisi and Kutaisi airports for urgent, light or high-value goods. Air freight is cleared at the airport customs post.
Where traders in Georgia get it wrong.
None of these is advice to do it. Each is here because it comes up, so you know why not and what to do instead.
Re-exporting to a 'third country' that is really the last stop before Russia
Why it's greyGeorgia hasn't imposed its own sanctions on Russia, and selling to Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan or Armenia is legal, so some traders treat any non-Russian buyer as fine.
What it meansGeorgia enforces the EU and US re-export bans on cars (US-made from 1 August 2023, EU-made from 26 September 2023), the EU has given Tbilisi a list of high-risk dual-use codes, and your EU and US suppliers, banks and insurers screen where the goods end up. If the end user is in Russia or Belarus and the goods are sanctioned, the route doesn't change the answer. We don't work on these flows.
Calling goods 'Georgian' to use the EU deal
Why it's greyGoods shipped from Georgia look Georgian, and repacking or relabelling feels like enough.
What it meansFree trade rates depend on where goods were made, under the agreement's origin rules. Chinese goods that pass through a Georgian warehouse stay Chinese. A false origin claim is customs fraud in the country of import, and the importer pays the duty back with penalties. Real processing in Georgia can qualify; we check the rule for the product.
Under-declaring the invoice to cut the VAT
Why it's greyImport VAT is 18% of the customs value, so a lower invoice means a lower bill, and some suppliers offer two invoices.
What it meansCustoms compares declared values with its own data and the payment trail. The VAT a registered importer pays is usually recoverable anyway, so the saving is small and the exposure (back taxes, penalties, seized goods) is large. Declare the real price.
Using a free zone company to sell into Georgia
Why it's greyThe zone's exemptions are generous, so it's tempting to run a local distribution business from inside it.
What it meansSales from the zone to Georgian businesses carry 4% plus import VAT, and the zone limits which local services you can use. For a business that sells mainly in Georgia, an ordinary company is cheaper and simpler.
Bringing in stock as personal parcels
Why it's greyLow-value personal parcels (under GEL 300 and 30 kg) clear without tax, so stock gets split into small parcels.
What it meansThe allowance is for personal shopping. Commercial goods are declared as commercial goods, and splitting a consignment to stay under the threshold is the kind of pattern the Revenue Service looks for.
From the first shipment plan to the structure behind it.
We're an advisory firm with a founder based in Georgia. We work out the set-up, build it, and line up the people who move and clear the goods.
The right entity
Company, Individual Entrepreneur, Special Trading Company or free zone enterprise: we compare them for your goods and buyers, set up the one that fits, register for VAT when needed and keep the books.
Landed-cost model
Tariff code, duty band, free trade rate, VAT, fees, freight and storage, worked out for your product before you order, so the price you quote holds up at the border.
Suppliers, buyers and partners
We research the market, short-list and check suppliers and distributors, and line up licensed customs representatives, forwarders and warehouses in Georgia.
Origin and compliance
Origin rules for the EU and China deals, permits, Georgian labelling, product safety duties, and sanctions screening of the route and the end buyer.
Banking for trade
Georgian banks decide for themselves who they take on. We prepare the application: what you trade, with whom, how money moves and where it came from.
Your home country
Where you live and where the company is really run from decide where its profits are taxed. We check that before the structure is built, not after.
Trading water filters?
We run a dedicated consultation for importing and exporting water filters: sourcing, certification, and finding partners.
What people ask on the first call.
Do I need a Georgian company to import into Georgia?
Someone has to be the importer: the person who declares the goods, pays the taxes and answers for the product on the Georgian market. That's usually a Georgian company or an Individual Entrepreneur with a Georgian tax number. A foreign supplier can also sell to a Georgian importer and let them handle customs. Which suits you depends on whether you'll hold stock and sell locally, or just pass goods through.
How much duty and VAT will I pay?
Duty is 0%, 5% or 12% of the customs value depending on the product, and 0% on many goods that qualify under a free trade agreement. Import VAT is 18% of the customs value plus duty. On a GEL 54,000 container in the 0% band that's GEL 9,720 of VAT, plus a Revenue Service fee of a few hundred lari per declaration. A VAT-registered importer usually gets the VAT back.
Can I sell into the EU duty-free from Georgia?
Yes for goods that count as Georgian under the EU deal's origin rules: made or sufficiently processed in Georgia, with a EUR.1 or an origin declaration. Goods made elsewhere and simply stored or repacked in Georgia keep their original origin and pay whatever the EU charges that country. We check the rule for your product before you plan around it.
What is a Special Trading Company?
A Georgian company with a status from the Revenue Service for trading foreign goods through a customs warehouse. It can re-export them, or sell them to other businesses while they stay in the warehouse, and the profit from those activities is exempt from profit tax. It can't sell into Georgia under the status, and the warehouse records must match its books.
Is a free industrial zone right for a trading business?
Usually not. The zones are built for making and processing goods for export. Selling from the zone into Georgia carries 4% plus import VAT, and the zone limits which local services you can buy. For pure trading, an ordinary company or a Special Trading Company is normally a better fit.
How long does customs clearance take?
With an advance electronic declaration and a low-risk score, goods can be released at the border checkpoint; others go to a clearance zone for checks or inspection. How long that takes depends on the goods, the paperwork and the channel, so we plan for checks rather than promise a time.
Can a foreigner set up a Georgian trading company and bank account?
Foreigners can own and run a Georgian company. Bank accounts are the bank's decision: they'll ask what you trade, with whom, how money moves and where your funds came from. We prepare that with you, but nobody can promise a bank will say yes.
Will you help with re-exports to Russia?
No. We don't work on trade that moves sanctioned goods to Russia or Belarus, directly or through another country, and we screen the route and the end buyer on every trade we help with.
Is the EU deal safe, given the politics?
As of November 2026 the DCFTA is in force and trade under it continues. Relations are strained: the European Parliament has called for a review of the Association Agreement, and in March 2026 the EU suspended visa-free travel for Georgian diplomatic and official passports. Suspending trade preferences would be a bigger step that hasn't been taken. If EU access is central to your plan, we build in a fallback.
Tell us the goods, where they come from and where they're going.
We'll come back with the set-up that fits, what it costs at the border, and what we'd do first. The first call is free; any work after it is agreed in writing before we start, with no hourly billing.
Sources & scope
- Revenue Service: clearance of goods at the customs checkpoint
Duty bands, 18% VAT and the service fees per declaration.
- Revenue Service: import and export brochure
Fees for advance declarations and the rule that fees double on holidays and outside working hours.
- Revenue Service: Special Trade Company
What the status allows and how to apply.
- US Commerce Department: Georgia import tariffs
The three duty bands and VAT on imports.
- European Commission: EU trade relations with Georgia
Association Agreement and DCFTA dates.
- EU Access2Markets: movement certificate EUR.1 (Georgia)
How EUR.1 is issued, its 10-month validity and record keeping.
- UNCTAD: Georgia's trade and investment agreements
Entry-into-force dates for the UAE, UK, Hong Kong, China and EFTA agreements.
- Ministry of Economy: Georgia's free trade agreements (2024)
Partners, tariff carve-outs under the China and Hong Kong deals.
- Andersen Georgia: free industrial zones (March 2026)
Exemptions, the 4% on sales into Georgia, and activity limits.
- PwC tax summaries: Georgia
Import tax bands and the VAT registration threshold.
- Geostat: external merchandise trade 2025
Exports, re-exports and cars' share of exports.
- Eurofast: Georgia joins NCTS
Common transit from 1 February 2025.
- Product Safety and Free Movement Code
Who counts as the importer and their duties on the Georgian market.
- National Food Agency: permits
Veterinary and plant-health import permits.
Checked 11 November 2026. General information, not tax, legal or customs advice. Duty rates, fees, permits and the special regimes depend on the exact goods, their origin and your set-up, and they change; what applies to you is confirmed in writing before anything is shipped or registered.
About us
The team behind your Georgia trade set-up
PWS Offshore is a small, senior advisory team. Our founder, Andrew, is British and lives in Georgia, so we know the Revenue Service, the banks and the day-to-day reality of doing business here.
We set up the company, the tax position and the banking, and line up the specialists who move and clear the goods, with the same people looking after you from the first call.
More on Georgia
Georgia 1% tax & business setup
Individual Entrepreneur status, the GEL 500,000 limit, residence and banking.
Georgia: the jurisdiction
Formation, tax, substance and banking in one place.
Water filter import & export
Sourcing, certification and partners for businesses trading water filters.
Every engagement begins with a twenty-minute advisory call. The fee is in writing before any work begins. No hourly billing.