According to the Minister of Finance of Georgia, Lasha Khutsishvili, more than 1,000 customs operations were canceled after the sanctions came into effect. According to him, in addition to this, there are more than 500 cases when business operators were warned in advance that international sanctions would be violated by performing the mentioned operation, therefore, these operations were no longer carried out.

As Lasha Khutsishvili noted in connection with the International Day of Customs, the Customs Code of Georgia fully matches with the Customs Code of the European Union. According to him, due to the sanctions, the customs checkpoints are strictly controlled and the relevant infrastructure is being developed at practically all checkpoints.

"Today is the international customs and professional day of customs officers. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate each customs officer and all employees of the customs department on this day and wish them success. Customs officers work 24 hours a day, perform their duties and protect the country's economic border.

Customs has great progress and success in all directions. This also applies to the fulfillment of international norms. The customs authority of Georgia operates according to relevant international standards. The proof of this is the communications we receive from partner organizations.

More than 1,000 customs operations have been canceled since the sanctions came into effect. In addition, we have more than 500 cases when business operators were warned in advance that by performing the mentioned operation international sanctions would be violated. Therefore these operations were no longer carried out. We proactively work with business operators to let them know in advance what constitutes a sanction violation.

Naturally, due to the sanctions, we strictly control the customs checkpoints. We can say that the relevant infrastructure is being developed at practically all customs checkpoints. An additional scanner was installed at the Kazbegi checkpoint, where cargo is scanned. The construction of Ninotsminda customs checkpoint was completed last year. In the near future, the rehabilitation of the Lagodekhi point will be completed.

The customs code of Georgia is already fully harmonized with the customs code of the European Union," said Lasha Khutsishvili.