The Georgian Competition and Consumer Agency (GCCA) is ready to enforce “fair trade” legislation if assigned the responsibility, GCCA Chairman Irakli Lekvinadze told BM.GE. He said the agency is not the initiator of the draft law, with discussions to continue in Parliament and relevant ministries.
Lekvinadze said a parliamentary special commission identified several issues in relations between producers, suppliers, importers and retail chains. The commission has developed short-, medium- and long-term measures, with new legislation included among the medium-term approaches.
According to Lekvinadze, similar regulations exist in many European countries. While the GCCA is not currently involved in drafting the bill, it is ready to participate in discussions and take on enforcement if that responsibility is assigned.
The government plans to submit a bill titled “On the Prohibition of Unfair Trading Practices in the Food Supply Chain” during the autumn parliamentary session. It is expected to regulate relations mainly between producers and retail chains, including written contracts, payment terms, and restrictions on unfair fines and fees.
