Georgian Parliament approves accelerated amendments to Administrative Procedure Code

The Georgian Parliament has approved in the first reading, through an expedited procedure, amendments to the Administrative Procedure Code of Georgia, with 81 MPs voting in favour, the vote being unanimous as the opposition boycott the state legislature. 

 The bill was presented by Akaki Aladashvili, First Deputy Chair of the Procedural Issues Committee.

“The initiative for this project is driven by the Constitutional Court of Georgia’s decision on 7 March 2025, which declared certain provisions of the Administrative Procedure Code unconstitutional,” Aladashvili explained.

The amendments focus on procedural aspects of court consideration regarding false self-recognition by individuals, including the timelines for review, postponement of proceedings if the summoned party cannot attend, and the requirement for the court to provide reasoned orders.

Under the proposed changes, a judge must issue an order regarding a taxpayer’s false self-recognition within one month of submission by the tax authority, instead of the previous 14-day period. For cases of particular complexity, the deadline can be extended by a maximum of one additional month by court decision.

Additionally, after verifying the validity of the tax authority’s request, the judge will issue a reasoned order on whether the request is granted or denied.

The amendments also change the timeframe for filing an appeal against a judge’s order regarding cancellation of a decision: the appeal must now be filed within 14 days of receiving a copy of the order, instead of the previous 48 hours.