rt of Private Businesses is the lead counterpart for this project (for more details refer to Paragraph 1.3.1 describing the activities of
Foreign Investment Advisory Council - FIAC ). The main objective of this study was to identify the major administrative impediments to investment and to recommend the steps for streamlining, simplifying and increasing transparency in order to help improve the environment for business in Georgia. Although the primary focus of the study was foreign investment, the administrative procedures and regulatory framework affect domestic investors as well. Therefore, applying the principle of national treatment (ie no preferential treatment for foreign investors), this study is intended to help strengthen the business environment for all investors-domestic and foreign alike. The study covers the core administrative processes for:
В· Establishing a business - including investor entry (visa and residency requirements for expatriates) and business registration.
В· Locating a business - including land acquisition, site development, construction and operation.
В· Operating a business - including taxation, trade regime and customs, licensing, permits, inspections, intellectual property issues, and product standardization.
Establishing a Business-Investor Entry and Business Registration . The procedures for obtaining entry visas are relatively transparent and present no significant administrative impediments. Most notably, foreign investors and expatriate employees do not require special work or residence permits to live and work in Georgia.
The court registration procedures have been simplified in the past 2 years. However, because of the lack of technical and human capacity, court registrars are unable to fulfill the provisions of the Law on Entrepreneurs aimed at guaranteeing timely service, ensuring public availability of information on companies, publishing data on newly registered companies, and protecting company names. The most pressing issues relate to length of time required to register (2 to 3 weeks) and to retrieve information on companies.
The principal recommendations for improving the business registration process and the access to company records include:
В· Modernization of the registration and data filing systems by taking advantage of new technologies (including the internet) to speed up processing and to improve the access to information, as provided under the law.
В· Centralization of the court registration system.
В· Publication and dissemination of information on business registration procedures, requirements and fees.
В· Resolution of the legal provisions for information disclosure under the Law on Entrepreneurs and the Tax Code. <...
