Georgia makes it easy to register a company. But the minute your company is active, you take on legal responsibilities. Not just once a year. Every single month.

Business compliance in Georgia means staying in line with local laws, submitting your reports correctly, keeping your data updated, and working with institutions that speak a different language and run on different systems. If you ignore it, penalties add up fast. If you follow the rules, the system rewards you with low taxes and flexibility.

The catch? You can’t guess your way through it. The real risks come after registration.

Who Regulates Business Compliance in Georgia

There isn’t one single authority. Several government institutions monitor different parts of your business.

Flowchart with "Who's Watching You?" at the top. Lists include Revenue Service, Public Registry, and effects like taxes and legal updates.

Revenue Service (RS.ge)

Handles tax filings, declarations, tax benefits, and compliance enforcement. This is where monthly and annual reports are submitted.

Public Service Hall

Manages your legal company record. If your business address, director, shareholders, or activities change, this is where you must update them.

National Bank of Georgia

Regulates banking. They track how money moves through accounts, flag mismatches in legal documents, and monitor financial compliance for anti-money laundering.

Ministry of Finance

Sets the conditions for tax statuses like Small Business Status, Virtual Zone, and International Company. If your company doesn't follow the terms, these statuses can be revoked.

Geostat (Saqstat.ge)

Georgia’s national statistics office. They assign mandatory reporting requirements and deadlines to some registered companies, even if they aren’t generating income.

If these institutions see conflicting data in your submissions or a missed report, your company may be flagged or fined. And no one sends reminders.

Monthly Compliance Checklist

Once your company is live, the most important habit is filing monthly declarations. Georgia works on a self-reporting system. You’re expected to report your own income, salaries, and VAT with full transparency.

Here’s what that means in practice:

Form 200

This is the salary tax declaration. It’s required if your company pays local employees or if you’re a foreign founder paying yourself a salary through a Georgian contract.

Form 300 (VAT Return)

If your company is VAT-registered, this form reports all VAT collected and owed. Most companies that generate over 100,000 GEL annually must register for VAT.

Reverse VAT

Applies when you purchase services from non-Georgian vendors. If you use platforms like Facebook Ads, Figma, or Zoom, reverse VAT might apply.

Invoice Declarations

Even if you issue invoices manually, you must upload taxable transactions to RS.ge. This ensures the tax office sees everything you're reporting.

Pension Contributions

If you have Georgian employees, you must calculate and submit pension contributions monthly. Failure to do so leads to fines and legal liability.

The deadline for these filings is typically the 15th of the following month. If you submit even one day late, you're fined. And the system doesn’t care whether the delay was caused by your accountant, a technical error, or a misunderstanding of the rules.

Table titled "Which Form Does What," lists forms with their use and due frequency in a white and black design.

Annual Compliance: The Corporate Income Tax Return

Every Georgian company must file an annual return known as Form 500. This is the most important filing of the year, especially if your company holds any special tax status.

Form 500 includes:

Annual profit and loss report
Corporate tax calculation
Proof of reinvestment (for 0% profit tax model)
Dividend declarations
Supporting documentation

Even if your company qualifies for 0 percent corporate tax (because profits were reinvested), you still need to file. It’s how the Revenue Service confirms that you actually qualify.

The deadline is March 31 each year. Miss this, and your company may lose its Virtual Zone or International Company benefits. Worse, you might receive a retroactive tax bill.

Company Updates and Legal Changes

Changing your company director? Moving your office? Adding a shareholder? These are legal changes that must be filed through the Public Registry.

If you don’t update this information:

Your bank may block large transactions
The Revenue Service may mismatch your legal record with your tax filings
You may lose access to your company’s services or hit compliance errors on RS.ge

Every company in Georgia has a registered legal file that includes:

Company name
Registered address
NACE activity codes
Shareholder breakdown
Director appointment
Signature authority

You’re legally responsible for keeping this up to date. Many foreign founders forget this part after registration. That’s why Gegidze provides legal maintenance services throughout the year, not just during the setup phase.

Business Compliance Also Affects Your Personal Tax Status

Most foreign founders don’t realize this, but your business presence in Georgia can trigger personal tax obligations.

Spend more than 183 days in Georgia in a 12-month period? You become a tax resident by default. That means:

You may be taxed on worldwide income
You must report income from foreign sources
You could qualify for 1 percent tax as an Individual Entrepreneur, but only if set up correctly

Even if you’re operating through a Georgian LLC, your personal presence matters. The Revenue Service may audit you, especially if your name appears in your company’s profit declaration.

Payroll and Employment Compliance

If your Georgian company hires employees, you’re required to follow strict payroll compliance rules. This applies whether you’re employing locals or foreigners under contract.

Each payroll cycle requires accurate calculation and reporting of:

Gross salary
Income tax (20 percent withheld at source)
Pension contributions (2 percent employee, 2 percent employer, 2 percent state) for Georgian citizens
Employer obligations like declaration submission and payment timing

You must submit a Form 200 to the Revenue Service every month, listing all employees, their salaries, and tax deductions. Payments to the tax office must be made in GEL, even if you invoice clients in USD or EUR.

Missing a single payroll tax payment or submitting a declaration late, even by one day, results in fines. Overpaying or underpaying can trigger audits.

That’s why companies rely on platforms like Gegidze’s Payroll Management to:

Prepare Form 200 and pension breakdowns
Track deadlines
Align currency conversions with bank data
Handle salary slip generation for compliance

If you plan to hire foreigners through your Georgian entity, you must also register employment agreements and monitor visa compliance. Gegidze handles this under its Employer of Record (EOR) model, which removes the burden from your internal team.

Bank Account and Currency Compliance

Opening a company bank account in Georgia is easy. Keeping it compliant is another story.

Business compliance in Georgia includes banking. Here’s what most founders miss:

Every incoming and outgoing transaction must be legally justified.
Account currency must match your reported tax figures.
Foreign payments must include a correct purpose code, or they may be blocked.
You need to maintain payment orders, contracts, and invoices for all activity.

If the Revenue Service audits you, or the National Bank flags your account, you must provide legal justification for every GEL, USD, or EUR that moves.

Let’s say your Georgian company receives $50,000 from a foreign partner. If that partner isn’t listed on your company’s contracts, or if the payment doesn’t match your invoice structure, the bank may freeze it or label it suspicious. That’s a red flag for both the bank and RS.ge.

That’s why professional accounting includes monthly bank reconciliations, contract archiving, and multilingual support for your local bank. At Gegidze, we work directly with Georgia’s top banks to pre-approve incoming structures and avoid blocks.

Compliance for Special Tax Statuses

Some Georgian companies qualify for special tax regimes, like the Virtual Zone, Small Business Status (SBS), or International Company status. These come with major tax incentives. But only if you meet the compliance requirements.

Table titled "Are You Still Eligible for Tax Benefits?" lists requirements across three columns (SBS, VZ, IT) with check and cross marks.

Virtual Zone (0% Corporate Tax)

Your company must:

Be registered as a software-related entity
Only invoice foreign clients
Operate in qualifying activities (not consulting, not reselling)
Submit monthly reports proving export activity
Submit annual proof of reinvestment of profits

One mistake, like a domestic invoice or delayed annual filing, can trigger revocation. If the status is revoked retroactively, you may be asked to repay corporate tax with interest.

Small Business Status (1% Personal Tax for IEs)

This applies to Individual Entrepreneurs (not LLCs), and the compliance rules are extremely strict:

Annual turnover must stay under 500,000 GEL
Monthly revenue declarations must be filed even if revenue is 0
You must not engage in excluded activities (like brokerage or law)
You must not pay other employees a salary (only contractors allowed)
You must apply and re-confirm status annually

International Company Status (5% on Distributed Profit)

This applies to certain IT and maritime companies with export operations and local employment. To qualify and stay compliant, you must:

Hire at least 2 local employees
Maintain office space in Georgia
Submit monthly tax reports and annual declarations
Meet the minimum salary threshold for employees
Match activities to one of the approved NACE codes

Gegidze helps foreign founders register for these benefits properly, and more importantly, helps them maintain eligibility year after year.

What Happens If You Get It Wrong

List titled "Where Mistakes Hurt the Most" with items: Not updating director info, Missing salary filings, Using wrong currency, Late Form 500, Unregistered employee contracts. Red flag icons beside each item.

If your company misses compliance steps in Georgia, here’s what can happen:

Your RS.ge portal is flagged
Your bank account is monitored or frozen
You lose SBS, VZ, or IC tax benefits
You receive automatic fines, increasing every month
You can’t renew work permits for employees
You face barriers when applying for residency or tax status
Your company’s reputation suffers with local partners and regulators

Most of these issues are completely avoidable. The problem is that Georgia doesn’t notify you when something is wrong. It expects you to know.

We’ve helped companies fix late filings, appeal fines, recover frozen bank transfers, and reapply for lost statuses. But it’s always cheaper and easier to prevent the mess in the first place.

How Gegidze Helps You Stay Compliant

When you register your company in Georgia through Gegidze, we don’t stop at the paperwork. We build a system to keep you legally safe every month. Our services include:

Ongoing legal maintenance of your company file
Monthly tax declarations via RS.ge
Payroll and employment reporting
VAT and reverse VAT monitoring
Full tax declaration support (Form 200, 300, 500)
Banking structure guidance
DTA certificates and cross-border tax guidance
Annual status renewals (SBS, VZ, IC)

Whether you’re a solopreneur operating under Individual Entrepreneur status, or a scaling team with international clients and complex payments, we structure your operations to pass any audit.

Book your free consultation with Gegidze today to make sure that your business is fully compliant.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

What does business compliance in Georgia mean?

Business compliance in Georgia refers to meeting all legal, tax, and reporting obligations set by the Revenue Service, Public Registry, and other authorities. This includes monthly tax declarations, updates to company information, and employment law compliance.

Do I need to file monthly reports even if my Georgian company has no income?

Yes. Every company, active or inactive, must submit monthly reports like Form 200 or VAT declarations (if applicable) to RS.ge. Not filing leads to automatic fines, regardless of revenue.

How do I keep my business compliant with Georgian tax laws as a foreigner?

Foreign founders must follow the same rules as locals. This includes filing monthly forms, declaring salaries properly, and submitting annual profit tax declarations. Partnering with a local accountant or compliance team like Gegidze is essential.

What happens if I don’t update my company information with the Public Registry?

If you fail to report changes like your business address, shareholders, or director details, you risk fines and operational issues. Banks may block transactions or reject your documentation until records are corrected.

Is it mandatory to register for VAT in Georgia?

Only if your company crosses the 100,000 GEL annual threshold or imports digital services. However, once registered, you must submit VAT reports every month, even with zero income.