A new legislative package submitted to Parliament this week proposes a tenfold increase in the fee for expedited issuance of an act confirming the fulfillment of construction permit conditions (commissioning). If adopted, the fee will rise from the current GEL 4,500 to GEL 40,000.
The initiative, prepared with the involvement of Tbilisi City Hall, is authored by the Georgian Dream and supported by 17 ruling party MPs.
According to Goga Chikovani, head of the Municipal Inspection, the current fees, set years ago, no longer reflect today’s realities and do not cover the administrative resources required to provide expedited service.
“The tariffs adopted years ago were so small that they no longer meet current conditions. The municipality allocates significant administrative and human resources, and if the tariff does not correspond to today’s requirements, it must be reviewed," - said Chikovani, adding that companies themselves had requested updated tariffs.
The explanatory note to the draft law states that the goal is to optimize administrative resources and increase municipal revenue.
The proposal also introduces a new expedited fee for issuing an act on construction work carried out without a permit or in violation of permit documentation, if the violator acknowledges the breach. In such cases, the fee will range from GEL 4,500 to GEL 40,000.
When asked how much the new fee would speed up procedures for companies admitting violations, Chikovani avoided a direct answer. Instead, he emphasized the preventive effect of the expedited service.
“We offered expedited service to companies interested in timely verification of compliance with the approved project during construction. This can happen multiple times during the process. The service helps prevent violations and gives responsible companies additional mechanisms to ensure full compliance before applying for commissioning,” - Chikovani explained.
