Georgia: The Revenue Service of Georgia said that citizens would have to pay for services in case of receiving goods worth more than 300 GEL by mail from May 14 onwards.
On April 14, 2022, Resolution 96 – “On the approval of fees and rates for services provided by the Revenue Service” № Resolution 201 amended the service fees, which will come into effect on May 14.
Under the amendment, the obligation to pay the service fee is set for the registration of goods imported by mail, less than 10,000 GEL, and the amount of the fee is determined as follows:
- For goods worth from 300 to 3,000 GEL – 20 GEL;
- For goods worth from 3,000 to 10,000 GEL – 100 GEL.
According to the Revenue Service, from May 14, the customs-cleared parcel will be issued only after the payment of the mentioned amount and the submission of the payment order.
The sources to the Revenue Service, where it was confirmed that according to the changes, all citizens who receive goods worth more than 300 GEL by post would be charged for the Service.
According to the Revenue Service, until now, citizens have not paid the service fee for postal items worth up to 10,000 GEL; the reason for the change is unknown.
“I can not tell you the reason. The immediate change is planned: until now, there was no service fee for mail up to 10,000 GEL, and from May 14, this amendment of Resolution 96 will come into force, which already provides for the payment of service fees,” said a representative of the Revenue Service in an interview with a journalist.
The Service has set a different-different service fee for the processing of goods declared by e-Customs through the e-Customs Automated Declarators / Automated Data System, which the Service says is intended to encourage the use of self-service and e-services.
Moreover, the agency explained that in the case of postal transfers, it is technically impossible to fill out postal declarations on the online platform e-Customs; therefore, it is impossible to replace postal services on online platforms to reduce postage service fees, and all citizens will be obliged to pay this fee.
“In the case of mailing, using online platforms is not possible. Basically, this applies in the case of Gez Clearance Economic Zone services; when the declaration is completed by the declarant himself, the company has an authorized person. It is not physically possible for the subscriber to fill in this declaration at the post office and thus reduce the service fee,” the Revenue Service said.