“It was important that, on the one hand, the goal of improving air quality be achieved, and on the other hand, the interests of the private sector be taken into account,” said the Minister of Environmental Protection and Agriculture, David Songulashvili, regarding the decision to introduce a 4.5-lari tariff per cubic centimeter for customs clearance, instead of banning the import of vehicles older than six years.

According to him, the decision was made in the best interests of citizens.

As David Songulashvili noted, increasing the tariff will hinder the import of older vehicles, which in turn will lead to an improvement in air quality.

“Our citizens’ best interests were taken into account, including their requests, and this was the key motivator behind adopting such a decision. On the one hand, the increase in the tariff will act as a deterrent to the import of older vehicles, and on the other hand, this restriction will contribute to improving air quality, which is one of the key priorities in the field of environmental protection,” David Songulashvili stated.

The information was released by the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Agriculture.