What a US auction car really costs, landed in Tbilisi

In Georgia the customs bill depends on engine size and age, not on what you paid, and since April 2026 one model year can triple the excise. This guide goes through every line between the hammer and a car registered in Tbilisi (via Poti or Batumi). It marks which numbers are sourced and which you fill in. For the full rules, see Importing a US auction car into Georgia. Nothing here is customs advice. Check the official rs.ge calculator for your exact car and confirm with your broker before you bid.

The landed cost, line by line

1. Hammer price + buyer fees (you enter). The hammer is your bid. Buyer fees come from the auction's own published schedule and depend on the auction, your account type, the price and how you pay. FlipRadar doesn't publish auction fee tables. Use the fee the auction shows for your account.

2. US inland transport (you enter). Towing from the yard to the export port. We found no sourced public figure, so get it from your transporter or forwarder (many bundle it into the freight quote).

3. Ocean freight to Poti (range, not a price).

• Shared 40ft, per car: Y7's tariff (effective 1 Oct 2026) lists $800 Savannah / $900 NJ-NY at 4 cars per box and $1,000 / $1,200 at 3 per box, Houston $1,150–$1,500, Los Angeles $1,150–$2,000, plus $100 loading/docs. (Y7, accessed 19 Oct 2026 · estimate — confirm locally)
• Seaway shows shared container at $1,600–$2,400. (Seaway Export, accessed 19 Oct 2026 · estimate — confirm locally)
• RoRo to Poti: about $1,200–$1,600. (BidGoDrive · All Transport Depot, accessed 19 Oct 2026 · estimate — confirm locally)
• Transit: about 25–50 days depending on the US coast (Seaway). estimate — confirm locally. The Y7 and Seaway figures are about 2× apart (Y7 is a dealer tariff without Poti fees), so get several quotes.

4. Poti port and clearing. Terminal handling $200–$250 and port/storage $100–$150 (Y7, same link · estimate — confirm locally). Broker fees: Not found, so get them from your broker.

5. Excise + import duty (formula, no VAT).

• Excise (from 2 Apr 2026): 1.5 GEL per cm³ for cars 0–6 years old; 4.5 GEL per cm³ for cars older than 6. RHD ×3; LHD hybrids up to 6 years −60%; LHD EVs no excise; RHD EVs 3,000 GEL. (Interpressnews · doberi.ge, accessed 19 Oct 2026 · estimate — confirm locally)
• Age = declaration year minus year of manufacture (doberi.ge · estimate — confirm locally). The year you clear counts, not the year you bid, and the manufacture year can differ from the model year. If the car is about 6 years old, check rs.ge for your exact car.
• Import duty: 0.05 GEL per cm³, plus 5% of that per year of age. (doberi.ge · estimate — confirm locally)
• No import VAT on passenger cars (Tax Code Art. 173(z)). (legali.ge, accessed 19 Oct 2026 · estimate — confirm locally) If an estimate adds 18% VAT, ask why.
• Excise and duty are refunded if the car leaves Georgia within 180 days (doberi.ge · estimate — confirm locally).

6. Fees, registration and inspection.

• Clearance and registration fees ≈ 480 GEL (clearance 150, declaration 50, inspection act 30, transit plate 50, registration certificate 100, plates 80, viewing act 20). (doberi.ge · Public Service Agency, accessed 19 Oct 2026 · estimate — confirm locally) Register within 60 days.
• Technical inspection: 60 GEL; a lit ABS or SRS light fails it. (PTI FAQ, accessed 19 Oct 2026 · estimate — confirm locally)
• Euro 5 is required for first registration since 1 Jan 2024, so many pre-2013 cars clear customs but can't be registered. (MEPA · bpn.ge, accessed 19 Oct 2026 · estimate — confirm locally)

7. Repair (you enter). Budget the repair so the car passes technical inspection, including any ABS or SRS warning lights. Published body-shop prices are weak sources, so we don't quote them here.

Currency: NBG official rate 2.5979 GEL per USD (published 19 Oct 2026). (NBG · estimate — confirm locally)

Worked example 1: 2.0 L petrol, 2022 build, LHD, cleared in 2026, shared container from Savannah

Engine, year and route are illustrative choices. Rates, fees and freight are sourced above. estimate — confirm locally.

Illustrative 2.0 L, 2022 build, shared container from Savannah.

Line	Basis	GEL	USD (at 2.5979)
Excise	2,000 cm³ × 1.5 (age 4)	3,000
Import duty	2,000 × 0.05 × (1 + 5% × 4)	120
Clearance + registration fees	≈ 480 (doberi / PSA)	480
Technical inspection	60 (PTI)	60
Georgian charges		3,660	≈ $1,409
Freight, shared 40ft at 4/box + loading/docs	$800 + $100 (Y7)		$900
Poti THC + port/storage	$200–250 + $100–150 (Y7)		$300–400
Sourced subtotal			≈ $2,609–$2,709
Hammer, buyer fee, US inland, broker, repair	You enter (illustrative)		—

The customs + fees part (≈ 3,600 GEL ≈ $1,386) matches doberi.ge's worked example.

Worked example 2: 2.5 L petrol, 2017 build, LHD, cleared in 2026, shared container from Los Angeles

Illustrative choices; sourced rates. estimate — confirm locally.

Illustrative 2.5 L, 2017 build, shared container from Los Angeles.

Line	Basis	GEL	USD
Excise	2,500 × 4.5 (age 9, older than 6)	11,250
Import duty	2,500 × 0.05 × (1 + 5% × 9)	181
Fees + inspection	480 + 60	540
Georgian charges		11,971	≈ $4,608
Freight, LA shared at 3/box + loading/docs	$2,000 + $100 (Y7)		$2,100
Poti THC + port/storage	$200–250 + $100–150 (Y7)		$300–400
Sourced subtotal			≈ $7,008–$7,108

Same city, very different bill: the older, bigger engine pays more than 3× the Georgian charges. The customs + fees part (≈ 11,911 GEL ≈ $4,585) matches doberi.ge's example.

Put it into the free calculator

The live max bid calculator is free and needs no account. It's a USD worksheet: max bid = resale − repair − buyer fee − transport − title and registration − target profit. It has no customs or tax fields and doesn't know Tbilisi. So you add your landed costs to its existing lines:

Calculator line	What to put in it for Tbilisi
Est. resale	Your realistic Tbilisi sale price, converted to USD (GEL ÷ the NBG rate on the day)
Est. repair	Your repair estimate, in USD
Buyer fee	Choose "Fee I type" and enter the fee from the auction's own published schedule. The site's bands are placeholders
Transport	US inland transport + ocean freight + Poti terminal handling, port/storage and broker fee
Title and registration	Excise + import duty + ≈480 GEL fees + 60 GEL inspection (from rs.ge for your exact car), converted to USD
Target profit	The margin you need, in USD

Georgia makes this easy: the charges depend on engine size and age, not price, so they're a fixed number for a given car and don't change as you change the bid.

Blank lines count as $0, and the worksheet shows that. A blank isn't a researched number.

Open the max bid calculator

Want this inside the browser? The FlipRadar Chrome extension version with Market Profiles (1.1.0) adds lari amounts, landed cost at your port, a walk-away line, and warnings at the 6-year excise step and for Euro 5. It's in private beta and not in the Chrome Web Store. To try it, email hello@theflipradar.com and ask for the private beta. To hear when it's released, use Get updates below. Product updates only.

FlipRadar is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any auction company or the Georgian Revenue Service.

FAQ

Sources (accessed 19 October 2026)

• Interpressnews, excise law: interpressnews.ge
• doberi.ge, customs guide and examples: doberi.ge
• Tax Code Art. 173 (legali.ge): legali.ge
• rs.ge official calculator: rs.ge
• Public Service Agency, registration: sa.gov.ge
• PTI FAQ: pti.ge
• MEPA, Euro 5: mepa.gov.ge · bpn.ge: bpn.ge
• NBG rate: nbg.gov.ge
• Freight: Y7 · Seaway Export · BidGoDrive · All Transport Depot

Other landed-cost guides

• Landed cost in Dubai
• Landed cost in Beirut
• Georgia import rules