Meeting with the Deputy Minister of Finance of Georgia

On July 25, the Association of Georgian Virtual Zone Persons, under the leadership of its chairman, Shorena Kopaleishvili, held another important meeting in an online format. It was attended by Deputy Minister of Finance of Georgia Mamuka Baratashvili, Head of Tax and Customs Policy Department at the Ministry of Finance of Georgia Marine Khurtsidze, and managing partner of Kreston Georgia David Papiashvili, and under his authorship, the details of the legislative proposal were the main topic of discussion at the meeting.

The parties discussed the initiative’s legal details, including the issue of attributing the information technology product to be created in Georgia, the tax code of Georgia clearly defined conditions for the preferential regime of taxation of Virtual Zone Persons, the specifics of agreements to avoid double taxation concerning VZP companies, the definition of information technology products, and others. There was also an exchange of ideas and information on other important issues. Participants in the meeting discussed the importance of consensus and how to achieve it.

It should be noted that the Association’s package of legislative clarifications and changes submitted to the Minister of Finance was positively evaluated. It was also mentioned that the current legislation needs to be clarified. Furthermore, the agency supports the initiative’s basic principles, though no final decision on initiating the initiative’s review has been made at this time.

It became known to the Association that the Ministry of Finance of Georgia is considering the implementation of certain reforms/changes to other special regimes. We hope that, based on past experience, there will be timely communication with the business and that the companies will not be faced with such unexpected decisions, which will ultimately jeopardize the development prospects of this industry in Georgia. 

Taking into account the current challenges, the Association, along with its partners, continues to work actively to achieve legislative changes.