Fines increase for driving cars without technical inspection
By Tea Mariamidze
Wednesday, November 8
The amendments to the Code of Administrative Offenses of Georgia envisage increased fines for driving vehicles which have not undergone a technical inspection.
The changes became necessary after the amendments to the Periodical Technical Inspection Reform of Cars, under which technical inspection of vehicles will be mandatory; the reform will come into effect on January 1, 2018.
Driving an uninspected car will result in a 50 GEL fine. Moreover, transfer / disposal of the vehicle which has not gone through a periodic technical inspection will be subject to a fine to the amount of 50 GEL and legal entities or individual entrepreneurs will be fined 200 GEL.
Consequently, the amendments will increase the amount of the fee; in particular, a 10 GEL fine becomes 50 GEL and fines for legal entity and / or individual entrepreneur will be 200 GEL instead of 100 GEL.
The mandatory inspection of vehicles is aimed at reducing the number of car accidents and improving the quality of air in Georgia, which highly exceeds permissible norms in some cities.
The exact price of the technical inspection is unknown, but as the Finance Minister Dimitri Kumsishvili stated last month, it will cost around 60 GEL.
The cars will also have to comply with the following seven main criteria: quality of brakes, steering wheel, suspension, visibility and lights, exhaust and tires.
At this stage there are 26 testing centers throughout Georgia, which have 35 lines. One car is able to be tested per line.
The primary inspections will last for two years, but will result in European standards being introduced to the country, which mean that cars which are four years old or less will not have to undergo an inspection. Cars that are four-six years old will undergo testing once every two years and cars older than six years will have to be tested every year.
After holding a tender, a Swiss company, SGS, was chosen to work on the issue of technical inspections.
Within the Georgia-EU Association Agreement signed in 2014, Georgia is obligated to ensure all vehicles are compliant with EU standards.
