·        Legal status

·        Date of registration

·        Remarks

As mentioned above, a company may be registered in any one of 66 local courts throughout Georgia.

4.1.2        Company Licensing System 

General. The law of Georgia on "Licensing of Entrepreneurial Activity" adopted on 14 May, 1999 defines those business activities which can be carried out only by licenses issued by the corresponding state agencies.

The law lists those types of business activities about which corresponding state bodies must be notified. The law does not cover export-import relations, environmental control and utilization of natural resources, electric power, oil and natural gas, communication and post services, where licensing procedures are regulated by special legal acts.

Activities to be Licensed and Licensing Agencies. The types of business activities that require obtaining a license and the respective state licensing agencies are as follows:

a)      Insurance activities and intermediary (agency) services in the field of insurance – Insurance State Supervision Service of Georgia;

b)      Banking activities, activities of foreign currency exchange points – National Bank of Georgia;

c)      Production, repair of and trading with arms and ammunition – Ministry of Justice of Georgia (within the limits defined by National Security Council of Georgia);

d)      Air transportation of passengers and goods or/and carrying out aviation related work at the territory of Georgia, maritime transportation and hauling – Ministry of Transport and Communications of Georgia;

e)      Activities of the regulated participants of the securities market (brokerage companies, brokers, stock exchanges, central securities depositary and securities registrars) – Ministry of Finance of Georgia;

f)        Organizing lotteries and other money-making games – Ministry of Finance of Georgia;

g)      Production of medicines and substances that are subject to special control, medicines used in veterinary, activities of health care organizations – Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Protection;

h)      Activities of diagnostic centers for technical examination of motor vehicles –Ministry of Internal Affairs of Georgia;

i)        Design - construction works – Ministry of Urbanization and Construction of Georgia (in the cases defined by the law);

j)        Activities of auditing firms – Parliamentary Council on Audit Activity of Georgia;

k)      Activities of private educational institutions – Ministry of Education of Georgia;

l)        Production and repair of metrological and measurement equipment – Department of Standardization, Metrology and Certification of Georgia;

m)    Production of food products (including child's food products) and tobacco - Ministry of Agriculture and Food of Georgia.

Notification about Carrying Out Activities. The following fields of activities are subject for compulsory notification of the relevant state agencies as defined in this paragraph:

a)      Activities related to precious metals, precious stones and their products – Testing Supervisory Inspection of Ministry of Finance of Georgia;

b)      Aero photographing of the country's territory, creating state geodesic network, works related to the publication of maps and plans – State Department of Geodesy and Cartography;

c)      Activities related to job finding services (including abroad) - Ministry of Labor, Health and Social Protection;

d)      Geologic activities - State Department of Geology;

e)      Transportation of passengers by a minicab – Relevant Department of local government (self-government) authorities;

f)        Activities of public dining halls, which can simultaneously accommodate 25 persons or more - Relevant Department of local government (self-government) authorities.

The notification is made as a statement, which includes:

a)      For an individual – data about the identification card of a citizen of Georgia, registration into enterprise register, occupation, home address);

b)      For a legal entity - the company's name, legal status, location (legal address), name of authorized representative;

c)      Indication about the type of activity and the place, where the person carries out this activity.

Within 15 days from starting the activity, a person is required to notify about starting this activity the relevant agency, which is obliged to issue a document certifying the receipt of such notification within 3 days after receiving the notification.

The Documentation that has to be Submitted for Obtaining a License. A license seeker submits a written application about obtaining the license to a licensing agency. The application about obtaining the license should include:

For an individual:

a)      First name, last name, date and place of birth

b)      Registration data from the registry

c)      Registration number

d)      Occupation

e)      Work and home addresses

f)        Type of license requested

g)      Document proving the payment of license fee

For a legal entity:

·a)Company name

·b)                     Organizational-legal status

·c)Legal address

·d)                     First and last names of company representative

·e)Type of license requested

·f)  Proof of payment for license fee

Licensing Fee. A license seeker pays a licensing fee for issuing a license certificate. The amount of a licensing fee, the procedure of its payment into the budget and claiming back is defined in "Law of Georgia on Licensing Fees". For issuing a copy of a license, the license holder covers the cost of making a copy of the license.

Duration of a License. A license is issued for an indefinite period of time. A license holder carries out the activity defined by the license since the date of making decision by the licensing agency about issuing the license. The transfer of a license to another person is prohibited.

License Register and its Maintenance. There are two types of license register: a) Departmental license register; and b) The state license register. A licensing agency enters the data related to a license into a departmental license register within 3 days after making the decision about issuing a license. The following data is recorded into a departmental license register:

For an individual:

a)      Data about the holder of a license (first name, last name)

b)      Home address

c)      The type (types) of licensed activities

d)      The number of a license and the date of issue

e)      Data about suspending, resuming, revoking a license or issuing a copy of the license

For a legal entity:

a)      Data about the holder of a license  (the company's name)

b)      The company's legal status

c)      The data of the state registration

d)      Location (legal address)

e)      The data about making amendments into the company's name, legal status and location (legal address), as well as about the reorganization of the company

f)        The type (types) of licensed activities

g)      The number of a license and the date of issue

f)        Data about suspending, resuming, revoking a license or issuing a copy of the license

4.2  Local Enterprises

4.1.3        Joint Stock Companies traded at Georgian Stock Exchange

First, we will analyse the aggregate figures concerning all Joint Stock Companies (JSC) traded at Georgian Stock Exchange (GSE) and then will present the data on individual enterprises.

Market Capitalization. The figures describing the market capitalization of all Joint Stock Companies traded at GSE are presented in Table 4.1.1.1:

Table 4.1.1.1 Market Capitalization of all JSCs