Technical certification of cars to become mandatory
By Gvantsa Gabekhadze
Tuesday, February 11
The technical certification of vehicles in Georgia will become mandatory from March 2015. Minister of Finance of Georgia Nodar Khaduri stressed on February 10 that the technical certification is not a budgetary project. Thus, according to him, the money that will be paid by the car owners will not go to the state budget.
The Interior Minister Aleksandre Tchikaidze explains that 30-35% of car accidents are caused by the technical fault of vehicles. He admits that the introduction of the certification will significantly decrease the number of the accidents.
“The technical certification will ensure our citizens drive with more secure transport,” Tchikaidze stated.
According to him, the annual fee for the certification for cars will not be more than GEL 48. The Ministry of Interior Affairs states that the price will range from GEL 48 to GEL 102 based on the variety of vehicles.
An exact price will be specified by the company, which will carry out the certification process.
Officials from the Ministry of Internal Affairs have announced that negotiations with the leading operator TUV Rheinland are underway and the group has already expressed their interest to enter Georgia.
TUV Rheinland is a global provider of technical, safety, and certification services. The company`s representatives are planning to visit Georgia. The terms and details of the mandatory technical certification rules have not yet been defined and the government is only starting to discuss the initiative. The process should be ended by March of 2015.
There are 900,000 vehicles registered in Georgia currently. Lavrenti Alanaia, head of the Transport Professional Unions in Georgia, states that half of the cars in Georgia could fail the certification due to the poor technical condition of the vehicles.
He states that the age of cars will not be decisive factor during the certification process, but the technical condition of cars will be.
“Catalysts that filter exhaust, brakes, lights and some other important parts of vehicle should be in order,” Alania stated, adding that more than 22 testing centers would be needed in Georgia to check the 900, 000 registered vehicles annually.
Deputy Minister of Economy Natia Mikeladze states that the technical certification of cars is one of the demands of the EU. She states that there are nearly 25 car-testing centers in Georgia currently. She hopes that foreign investors will be interested to putting money into the construction of such centers in Georgia.
The technical certification of cars was stopped ten years ago under the United National Movement Government. The reason was corruption in this field.
Member of the Labour Party Giorgi Gugava states that the certification of vehicles will, presumably, be a source of corruption, will cause additional expense for people during the economic hardship, as well as leaving people without a minimal income they have from their cars in the case their car fails the certification process. The party plans to collect signatures against the certification and protest the decision.