The ruling team’s initiative to increase customs duties on cars older than 6 years has been introduced in Parliament
An initiative by the ruling party Georgian Dream has been introduced in the Parliament of Georgia, proposing to increase the customs clearance fee for cars older than six years.
The change to the taxation rules for passenger vehicles will be reflected in the Tax Code of Georgia. At the same time, amendments will also be made to the Law on Motor Transport. Both draft laws have already been submitted to Parliament and will be reviewed under an accelerated procedure.
According to the draft:
For cars 0 to 6 years old, the excise tax rate will be 1.5 GEL per 1 cm³ of engine volume.
For cars older than 6 years, the excise tax rate will increase to 4.5 GEL per 1 cm³.
The criteria for classic cars will also change. A vehicle will be considered a classic car if it is more than 30 years old, instead of the current 40-year threshold established by law.
The legislative package has been sent to the Finance and Budget Committee.
The authors and initiators of the amendments are members of parliament: Paata Kvizhinadze, Irakli Kheladze, Bezhan Tsakadze, Giorgi Barvenashvili, Levan Machavariani, Zurab Rurua, and Ilia Injia.
For context, under the current tariff system, cars older than six years are taxed at 0.8 GEL per cubic centimeter of engine volume. The government’s proposal would increase the rate to 4.5 GEL, representing a 5.6-fold increase in excise tax.
Examples of how the change would affect customs clearance costs:
2.0-liter engine (2000 cm³) car older than 6 years:
Current cost: about 1,600 GEL
After change: about 9,000 GEL
1.0-liter engine:
Current cost: 800 GEL
After change: 4,500 GEL
1.5-lite engine:
Current cost: 1,875 GEL
After change: 6,750 GEL
3.0-liter engine:
Current cost: 2,400 GEL
After change: about 13,000 GEL.
