Businesses in Georgia to save 9m GEL by using Trade Facilitation System

Georgia is harmonising the electronic flow of information among key players in logistics, shipping and transport industries, and improving the country’s reputation as a business-friendly country by launching the Trade Facilitation System (TFS).

Today Georgia’s Minister of Justice Thea Tsulukiani announced Georgia would adopt the TFS after intensive testing modules were carried out successfully.

Parties involved in the project were the Revenue Service, Georgian Railway, Poti and Batumi Sea Ports, shipping lines, terminals and others. A total of 25 companies plus Governmental institutions were now ready to use the information hub (www.tfs.ge) however Tsulukiani hoped more small companies would be interested in using and benefitting from the TFS.

“We are introducing a platform that enables companies to exchange information electronically and without paper. As a result the TFS will substitute one million paper documents annually and thanks to that businesses will save about 9 million GEL every year,” Tsulukiani said.

Furthermore, research by Georgia’s Data Exchange Agency showed the TFS streamlined procedures will save 3.7 hours of operators’ working time and 26 printed pages on each container, resulting in the total annual estimated savings related to container management at 4.53 million GEL.

“The TFS enables traders, customs brokers, freight forwarders, shipping lines and other players in international trade to submit information through a single entry point.

It will also ensure connection between different operational software systems to exchange the data timely and safely,” Tsulukiani said.

Businesses that use the TFS will be able to optimise their logistic processes and improve their competitive market position, said Georgia’s Ministry of Justice.

The TFS was implemented in Georgia by the Data Exchange Agency of the Ministry of Justice of Georgia with significant support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and its Economic Prosperity Initiative (EPI). (agenda.ge)