Foreigner owners of Georgian lands to be fined GEL 30,000 for not cultivating them
By Tea Mariamidze
Wednesday, March 13
The statement was made by Chairman of the Committee on Agrarian Issues Otar Danelia.
Tightened sanctions are included in the new draft which will be considered by the parliament in the near future.
“If foreigners owning Georgian land do not cultivate them, the fines will be from GEL 20,000 to 30,000,” Danelia said.
While introducing the project to the diplomatic corps in Georgia, Danelia noted that the current constitution prohibits selling agricultural lands to the citizens of the foreign countries.
“A citizen of a foreign country will have the right to agricultural land only if he/she inherited it, and in the case of a legal entity, if the dominant partner of the land, who owns more than 50% is a Georgian citizen, a group of citizens or a Georgian entity, the right to property is not restricted,” Danelia explained, adding there are some other exceptions to.
The Chairman of the Committee on Agrarian Issues also said that in case of investments, legal entities established by a foreigner or a foreign company must submit an investment plan.
"An investment plan prepared by these individuals will be submitted to the Government of Georgia…The investment plan should support national security, the creation of new jobs and socio-economic development of the country, "he said.
According to Danelia, the Committee initiated to create a National Agency for Sustainable Management of Land, which will classify the agricultural lands in the country.
"Unfortunately, no one knows the exact number of agricultural lands in the country. Changing the status of land and other issues often create problems and the agency will manage such issues,” noted the chairman of the committee.
In June 2017, the Parliament of Georgia adopted a legislative amendment that placed a moratorium on the sale of agricultural land to foreign citizens and stateless persons. Under the amendments, foreigners, legal entities registered abroad and legal entities registered by foreigners in Georgia were not able to purchase agricultural land in Georgia.
The ban was included in the new draft constitution on the initiative of 116 MPs from the ruling Georgian Dream party in 2017.
The new constitution, activated after the country elected its 5th president in November, says that agricultural land is a ‘resource of exceptional significance’ and can be owned only by ‘the state, a self-governing entity, a citizen of Georgia, or a union of Georgian citizens’. It says exceptions can be made by adopting organic laws.