From January 1, 2026, excise duties on heated tobacco products might be increased, following amendments to a draft law introduced by Georgian Dream in Parliament. The initiative, presented by Shota Berekashvili, Chairman of the Sectoral Economy Committee, proposes raising the excise duty per pack from GEL 1.85 to GEL 2.70, while reducing the ad valorem rate from 30% to 20%.
The move aligns with recent changes to cigarette excise taxes, also proposed by Georgian Dream deputies. Under the amendments, the excise duty on cigarettes will increase from GEL 1.90 to GEL 2.75 per pack, while a reduced rate of GEL 1.30 will apply to the first 35 million packs of locally produced cigarettes.
According to Shota Berekashvili, the excise duty on heated tobacco products was initially set at GEL 1.85, but the latest revision raises it to match the updated taxation on cigarettes. The proposal aims to standardize excise rates across different tobacco products while balancing revenue collection with regulatory policy.
Official statistics from the Revenue Service of the Ministry of Finance show that in the first eight months of 2025, 281 million packs of cigarettes were sold in Georgia, of which 263 million were imported and 18.1 million were locally produced. In 2024, the government collected GEL 63 million in excise from local cigarettes and GEL 1.15 billion from imported products, highlighting the fiscal importance of tobacco taxation.
