The obligation to obtain a license for tobacco production in Georgia, which came into effect on January 1, 2025, will be postponed until January 1, 2026.
The issue of extending the licensing deadline by nine months has already been initiated in Parliament.
In July of last year, Parliament passed a law making tobacco production a licensed activity and imposing certain requirements on tobacco manufacturers. The license fee for tobacco production was set at 50,000 GEL.
Companies seeking a license were required to establish a specialized laboratory where tobacco products would be tested to ensure compliance with government-defined standards.
The initiators of the postponement cite issues related to setting up these laboratories as the main reason for the delay.
"The establishment of the legally required laboratory involves financial costs and time resources. Most of the equipment necessary for the laboratory cannot be purchased on the local market. Therefore, finding equipment manufacturers, negotiating, and purchasing the required products must be carried out outside of Georgia.
Manufacturers of laboratory equipment have standard production and transportation timelines. Additionally, installing and configuring the equipment at production facilities requires the involvement of the manufacturer's technical team, further complicating the laboratory setup process.
To fully acquire and install all necessary laboratory equipment, approximately 7-9 months are needed," the explanatory note to the draft law states.
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