Georgian Revenue Service: all products under international sanctions list subject to strict customs control
The customs body also noted export of sanctioned goods imported to Georgia was “strictly controlled” to make sure Russian or Belarusian goods do not end up in the countries participating in the sanctions or vice-versa.Photo: 1TV.ge
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Any type of goods, both military and dual-use, as well as all products included in the international sanctions imposed by the United States, United Kingdom, European Union and individual countries on Russia and Belarus over the military aggression in Ukraine are subject to “strict customs control” in Georgia, the country’s Revenue Service said on Friday.
In its statement following the recent speculation in the country about sanctioned goods being in transit through its territory, the state body said the Customs Department had operations that could potentially be carried out by sanctioned individuals or companies “under control”. It emphasised re-export of sanctioned goods imported to Georgia from Russia and Belarus and in the opposite direction were also subject to customs control.
“Re-export of sanctioned goods imported from European Union countries, USA, Great Britain and other countries participating in sanctions, or with a certificate of origin of these countries, to Russia and Belarus, or vice versa, is subject to special control in order to prevent the possibility of circumventing sanctions using Georgia,” the Service’s statement said.
The customs body also noted export of sanctioned goods imported to Georgia was “strictly controlled” to make sure Russian or Belarusian goods do not end up in the countries participating in the sanctions or vice-versa.
The statement highlighted customs controls on movement of military and dual-use goods were particularly tightened, with customs professionals noting sanctioned individuals and companies during their checks on cargo transit.
Georgia will not be a country where Russia will be able to bypass international sanctions for its invasion of Ukraine, Georgian Parliament Speaker Shalva Papuashvili stated on Sunday, following his visit to Ukraine and meeting with the Ukrainian Verkhovna Rada Chair Ruslan Stefanchuk.
The Georgian Ministry of Economy on Saturday rejected a TV report that alleged the country’s Black Sea port of Batumi had served Russian vessels in circumvention of international sanctions placed on Russia, calling the claims “harmful and irresponsible”.
Georgia will “never allow” any sanctioned cargo to be transported through its territory, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili said on Friday, following accusations of Ukrainian authorities on Russia smuggling products using Georgian territory to evade sanctioned imposed on it for its invasion of Ukraine.
The Revenue Service of the Ministry of Finance of Georgia has “categorically” declared that “any and all cargo”, including the goods in the list of international sanctions against Russia due to its invasion of Ukraine, is subject to “tight customs control” by the Georgian authorities.
Georgia’s Civil Aviation Agency on Saturday rejected as “unverified and baseless” a report by the opposition-minded Formula News outlet that claimed earlier during the day an aircraft owned by the sanctioned Russian oligarch Evgeny Giner had been allowed to be parked at the Tbilisi International Airport “for nearly a month now”.
The official position of the Georgian Government on the restrictive measures imposed on Russia by the international community for its invasion of Ukraine is “in full compliance” with the stance of the latter, Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili told PMs on Friday.
Levan Kakava, the Head of the Revenue Service of the Ministry of Finance of Georgia, signed an agreement on Georgia's participation in the European Union Customs Programme on Saturday.
More than 90 operations have been suspended by the Georgian customs service in the country on suspicion of violations of sanctions imposed by the international community against Russia due to its invasion of Ukraine, Lasha Khutsishvili, the Georgian Finance Minister said on Tuesday.
The Georgian Revenue Service on Sunday rejected as “disinformation” a story aired on TV Pirveli channel that alleged an American-made radio transmitting and receiving device had been sent by a Georgian-based company through an intermediary country and eventually to Belarus, in circumvention of sanctions imposed on Russia and Belarus since the start of the war in Ukraine.
Russia’s potential use of neighbouring countries for evading international sanctions imposed on it for invading Ukraine is a “natural risk”, but “no case” of evasion of the restrictions has been evidenced on the territory of Georgia, Giorgi Kakauridze, the Deputy Finance Minister of Georgia, said on Friday.