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Georgia is among the top trade reformers in the region - UNECE study

With its lean institutional set-up and paperless trading environment, Georgia stands among the top trade reformers in the UNECE region. This is the main conclusion of the UNECE Study on regulatory and procedural barriers to trade in the country, presented today in Geneva. Today, it takes 30 minutes for imports to pass customs and documentary requirements are reduced to two documents only (transport document and commercial invoice or sales contract). Exports are cleared in only 10 or 15 minutes, depending whether standard or advance procedures are used. Georgia exported goods worth $ 2.11 bn in 2016, and imported goods worth $ 7.27 bn.


Traders can obtain the customs declaration, necessary permits and the EUR 1 movement certificate online via the eCustoms interface and the Single Permit System; long wait times at border crossing points are avoided thanks to the electronic queuing system. At the border, control is undertaken by two agencies only (the Revenue Service and the Patrol Police), and traders have a choice of 6 Customs Clearance Zones, 4 clearance divisions, and 20 land, air and maritime Customs Crossing Points to clear their goods. The Customs Clearance Zones operate throughout the week 24 hours a day, with staff available to provide traders with the initial review of documents and assistance in the preparation and submission of the customs declaration.


Georgia also has a relatively advanced system of standardization, technical regulations, conformity assessment and metrology. The Georgian Accreditation Centre, a Legal Entity of Public Law is a signatory to the European Cooperation for Accreditation Multilateral Recognition Arrangement, and will be joining the International Laboratory Accreditation Cooperation mutual recognition agreement in 2018.


Moreover, the 65 traders from across the country representing leading sectors, expressed their appreciation of the procedures’ high level of transparency in interviews. Traders are kept abreast of trade-related regulatory and procedural requirements through online information dissemination systems and public-private consultations managed by the different line Ministries.


Reaping further benefits will require strengthening state agencies with technical skills and expertise, particularly for completing the approximation to the European Union Acquis Communautaire; consolidating the existing paperless trading systems; and, improving the country’s transport infrastructure.


“The Government has consistently followed a liberal trade regime, which is geared towards achieving the twin objective of creating efficiency gains for the business community and integrating the economy into regional and global value chains, and the UNECE study contributes to achieving this objective”, said Mr. Genadi Arveladze, Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development.


UNECE Executive Secretary Olga Algayerova declared: “This study is an important step in deepening UNECE’s engagement with countries with economies in transition to implement trade reforms and regional integration efforts. Georgia is to be congratulated for their efforts and UNECE will work closely with the government, its development partners and donor agencies to support the successful implementation of the agreed upon recommendations”.


For more information, please visit:  http://www.unece.org/tradewelcome/studies-on-regulatory-and-procedural-barriers-to-trade.html
Note to editors

UNECE studies on regulatory and procedural barriers to trade are conducted upon the request of member States, to support economic diversification and pro-poor growth in the region. The studies are based on a comprehensive evaluation methodology geared to assist countries in establishing the required institutional and legislative framework for ensuring successful integration into regional and global supply chains. They promote information exchange among countries on policies and experiences as well as greater accountability and transparency. Finally, they inform donors as to where assistance might be required.


The study of Georgia was conducted over the period October 2017-January 2018.

Studies have been carried out for the Republic of Albania, Belarus, the Republic of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, the Republic of Moldova and the Republic of Tajikistan. 

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