Georgian Government supports auto importers

Georgia is making changes to the country’s Tax Code in a bid to better support car importing businesses.

The Revenue Service of Georgia’s Ministry of Finance planned to implement a number of changes to the Tax Code to make it more simplified, specifically regarding auto imports.

Deputy Finance Minister Giorgi Tabuashvili met auto importers on April 1 and discussed possible ways the Government could better support the industry.

At the meeting Tabuashvili said the Government had already started to take action in this direction and announced the Revenue Service had been working on the Auto Import Business Support Plan for several months.

He said the Revenue Service decided to implement a range of changes after hosting meetings with sector representatives and obtaining feedback from them.

Basic details of the changes were Finance Ministry’s official Facebook page yesterday.

One of the changes envisaged commercial car importers who bring a vehicle to Georgia before April 1, 2015 will be exempt from the fines if he/she officially registered the vehicle or re-exported it before September 1, 2015.

This change would see a car be 1,000 GEL cheaper for the importer, meaning the chance of on-selling the car would increase.

Another change noted extending the custom tax deadline from 45 to 60 days when importing vehicles. Furthermore, the importer will not be fined if he/she does not register a car officially within 90 days.

If a commercial importer cannot on-sell a vehicle within 90 days, he/she will benefit from more simplified conditions allowing them to keep the vehicle(s) in the customs warehouse. (Agenda.ge)