Accounting Rules

Tax Year: The fiscal year is the calendar year.
Accounting Standards: IFRS, as promulgated by IASB (International Accounting Standards Board), has been translated and fully adopted and made mandatory as the only reporting standards in Georgia for a majority of enterprises (excluding sole entrepreneurs, small businesses and non-commercial legal entities).
Sole entrepreneurs, small businesses and non-commercial legal entities perform accounting and financial reporting following the simplified interim standards, approved by the parliamentary Accounting Commission.
Accounting Regulation Bodies: Ministry of Finance
Accounting Reports: A balance sheet, a profit and loss account, the notes.
Instead of the balance sheet and the statement of profit and losses, small enterprises may draw up an inventory list and profit-and-loss account in compliance with the tax legislation.
Publication Requirements: An enterprise shall publish information and facts stated by the Law on Entrepreneurs, in particular, the data of the Entrepreneur’s Register, the information concerning the voting shares and the partners' meetings.
Professional Accountancy Bodies: Association of Chartered Accountants and Auditors
Certification and Auditing: Companies have to seek a statutory auditor to conduct an annual audit of the financial health of their organization. You can contact an external auditor: Deloitte, Ernst & Young, PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Further information on the website of the Association of Chartered Accountants and Auditors.
Accounting News: Ein News

Tax Rates

Consumption Taxes

Nature of the Tax: Value Added Tax
Tax Rate: 18%
Reduced Tax Rate: Certain transactions are exempt or zero-rated. For more information consult the Pocket Tax Book.
Other Consumption Taxes: All information on excise taxes in Georgia is available on Excisenetgeorgian.

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Corporate Taxes

Company Tax: 15%
Tax Rate For Foreign Companies: 18%
Capital Gains Taxation: Capital gains are taxable as business income at the regular corporate income tax rate.
Main Allowable Deductions and Tax Credit: Deductible expenses are as follows:
- interest (within limits);
- reserves of insurance funds;
- scientific research;
- depreciation of fixed assets;
- repairs;
- insurance costs;
- prospection and extraction of resources;
- depreciation of intangible assets;
- taxes and fines (within limits);
- expenses and losses on the sale of property.
Other Corporate Taxes: Real property tax, fee for the use of natural resources.

Country Comparison For Corporate Taxation

	Georgia	Eastern Europe & Central Asia	United States	Germany
Number of Payments of Taxes per Year	18.0	41.7	11.0	16.0
Time Taken For Administrative Formalities (Hours)	387.0	313.9	187.0	215.0
Total Share of Taxes (% of Profit)	15.3	41.2	46.8	48.2

Source: Doing Business - Last Available Data.

Individual Taxes

Tax Rate

Income Tax

20%

Allowable Deductions and Tax Credit: Expenses related to business activities are deductible for individual entrepreneurs. There are no personal deductions or allowances.
Special Expatriate Tax Regime: There is no special tax regime for expatriates.

Double Taxation Treaties

Countries With Whom a Double Taxation Treaty Have Been Signed: See the list of the conventions signed
Withholding Taxes: Dividends: 5%, Interest: 5%, Royalties: 10%

Sources of Fiscal Information

Tax Authorities: Revenue Service of the Ministry of Finance
Other Domestic Resources: Information on taxation on the government website

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Intellectual Property

National Organizations: The authority in charge of the protection of intellectual property in Georgia is the Sakpatenti (National Center for Intellectual Property ).
Regional Organizations: Georgia is a signatory to the WIPO Treaty on copyright, and the Paris Convention on the Protection of Industrial Property.
International Membership: Member of the WIPO (World Intellectual Property Organization)
Signatory to the Paris Convention For the Protection of Intellectual Property

National Regulation and International Agreements

Type of property and law	Validity	International Agreements Signed
Patent Law on Patents.	8 to 20 years after the registration of a patent.	Patent Cooperation Treaty (PCT)
Trademark Law on trademarks.	10 years after the registration of the trademark.	Protocol Relating to the Madrid Agreement Concerning the International Registration of Marks
Design Legislation on copyright and assimilated rights.	70 years after the death of the author.
Copyright Legislation on copyright and assimilated rights.	70 years after the death of the author.	Berne convention For the Protection of Literary and Artistic Works WIPO Copyright Treaty
Industrial Models Law on Patents.	8 to 20 years after the registration of a patent.

Legal Framework

Independence of Justice: The judiciary is not fully independent, with courts influenced by pressure from the country's executive branch.
Equal Treatment of Nationals and Foreigners: Foreign nationals cannot expect a fair trial from the country's judicial system.
The Language of Justice: Georgian is the judicial language in the country; with Abkhaz being the judicial language in Abkhazia.
Sources of the Law and Legal Similarities: The main source of the law is the constitution of 1995, which is based on a civil law system. Georgia accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction. Georgia is a member of the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States).
Checking National Laws Online: Georgian legislation

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Standards

National Standards Organizations: Georgian National Agency for Standards, Technical Regulations and Metrology, (in Georgian).
Integration in the International Standards Network: The GEOSTM is a public corporation, and is a correspondent member of ISO and a member of the Euro-Asian Council for Standardization, Metrology and Certification (EASC).
Classification of Standards: For further information, consult the Georgian National Agency for Standards, Technical Regulations and Metrology (in Georgian).
Online Consultation of Standards: GEOSTM (in Georgian).
Certification Organizations: GEOSTM Georgian National Agency for Standards, Technical Regulations and Metrology.

Business Practices

General Information: Kwintessential, Advice on how to negotiate in Georgia
Opening Hours and Days: Most companies open from Monday to Friday. Opening hours for shops and financial institutions are from 9 am to 6 pm, with a break at 1 pm.
Most retail outlets are open on Saturday between 9 am and 6 pm.

Public Holidays

New Year's Day	1 January
Orthodox Christmas	7 January
Orthodox Epiphany	19 January
Restoration Day	9 April
Orthodox Good Friday	Variable
Orthodox Easter Monday	Variable
Victory Day	9 May
Saint Andrew's Day	12 May
Independence Day	26 May
Assumption of Our Lady (Mariamoba)	28 August
Svetitskhovloba	14 October
Saint George's Day	23 November

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Georgia: Business Environment